World of Warcraft: Fall of Dawn
by Stellar Castaway
Summary: After the destruction of the Ark and the defeat of both the Covenant and the Flood, the Master Chief and Cortana now find themselves on the mysterious world of Azeroth. How will the races of the Alliance and the Horde handle the arrival of a Spartan and his A.I. companion from beyond the stars...?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own World of Warcraft or Halo as those were developed by Blizzard Entertainment and Bungie Studios and subsidiary companies respectively.**

**Author's Notes: This is my first fanfiction story that I have written so I hope I make a good impression with it. For anyone who has read World of Warcraft Halo by Freedom Guard may have noticed some similarities in the first few chapters. Don't worry, I'm just using the first few chapters of Freedom Guard's story as a template to jump start mine. And yes I asked him beforehand and he Okayed it. Rest assured that the story will chart its own flow in due time so don't think for a moment that I'm plagiarizing. Enjoy the story!**

"Talking"

_"Thoughts"_

++"_Telepathy_"++

**==O==**

**Prologue**

**Arrival at Dusk**

**==O==**

_"It's time to end this!"_ John thought as he aimed his Spartan Laser at the heavily damaged and insane Guilty Spark.

"NOOO! YOU WILL NOT TAKE THIS RING FROM ME!" screamed Guilty Spark as he fired a beam at the Spartan.

The Chief ignored this and fired.

The Spartan Laser's fire made a direct hit causing Guilty Spark to violently convulse. Spark had just enough time to scream before he exploded in a flash of blue.

The Master Chief turned and slowly walked to where Sargent Johnson was lying. He knelt down and carefully moved Johnson to where the Chief could see his face.

"I'm getting you out of here." The Chief stated. Johnson gasped and shook his head weakly.

"No...You're not..."

The Chief felt the weak grip of Johnson's hand on his armored glove.

"Don't...don't let her go...Don't..._ever_...let her go..." The sergeant coughed painfully, still holding on to the small flicker of life that was left in him.

"Send me out...with a bang..." Johnson wheezed. He laid his head down, closed his eyes...and with his last breath went still.

Johnson's grasp loosened and slipped out the Chief's gauntleted hand leaving Cortana's chip in his palm.

The Chief was normally not a very emotional person. Thirty years of fighting a genocidal collection of aliens, the emotional conditioning that the SPARTAN II training hard-wired into him, and the loss of so many people that had become like brothers and sisters to him, and others that he befriended, had left him about as sentimental as a brick wall. Emotion really didn't fit in all that well with the kind of life that he led, with killing being one of the sole roles in his life since as long as he could remember. But now, most of his friends were either dead or missing; Sam, Kurt, Grace, the other Spartan's, Jacob, Miranda, and now Johnson.

He looked down to the glowing blue chip in his hand.

Well...maybe not all his friends...he still had Cortana.

The Chief looked at Johnson's lifeless body beneath him again before standing up. He walked over to the floating holographic control panel. He held out the chip, and Cortana's form materialized on a ledge in front of him. He didn't even look at her, instead choosing a single point on one of the far walls and stared it down.

"Chief..." Cortana said softly with look of remorse.

"I'm so sorry..." She frowned. She hung her head, and made a gesture with her left hand. The Chief heard the sound of the replacement ring's machinery activating the firing mechanism. Cortana turned back to the Chief touching the chip with her right hand. Her form dissipated from the air, and the blue glow returned to the chip in the Spartan's hand. He inserted the chip into the back of his helmet, and he felt the usual icy-needle-poking feeling that he always felt whenever Cortana took residence inside his brain.

As he turned around a high pitched noise followed by a column of blue light arose from behind him, signaling him that the ring's weapon had begun to activate. Then the platform he was standing on started to collapse all around him.

He took one last look at Johnson's body, and then he ran back to the Arbiter.

"I am sorry, Spartan." The Arbiter said to the Chief. The Spartan acknowledged him with a nod in response. He knew there wasn't anything the Arbiter could have done. But he was grateful for his presence all the same.

"But come." The Chief nodded and took the assault rifle off his back and into his hands, knowing full well that there would be more Flood coming soon. As if on cue, a group of came swarming around a corner that the duo were about to go around. The Arbiter began to fire on one of the two infected elites with a plasma rifle while the Chief popped most of the infection forms that skittered beneath the combat forms. The Arbiter side-stepped a swipe from the infected elite, and quickly responded by drawing his plasma sword and slicing the combat form striking what was left of the former elite's head, penetrating the already weakened shielding and 'killing' it. The infection form that was inside of the infected elite attempted to claw and pierce the Arbiter's chest, but the Arbiter quickly pulled out his plasma rifle again and shot that as well while the Chief took out the other combat form. Doing so even while the control building was shaking and collapsing around them.

The two continued until the outside of the control room was visible. The Chief was surprised at how quickly activating Halo had changed the ring; the sky was already turned red and the rest of the Ark above them looked purple from their perspective.

"Even in death, your sergeant guides us all." The Arbiter said solemnly, as he saw that the piece of the ice shelf that Johnson had fired the Spartan Laser from before had fallen, allowing the two a way up.

Cortana then spoke up.

"The Dawn... Of course! The Frigate! We still have a chance!"

A red contact appeared on the Chief's motion tracker. He turned around, expecting the Flood, but instead saw that it was a sentinel, with several more floating behind it. The Chief began to fire on them while heading up the slope onto the ice shelf. The Arbiter looked to see what the Chief was firing at, and quickly joined in, his plasma rifle's fire draining the sentinel's shields considerably faster than the Chief's assault rifle. John noticed this, and instead turned his attention to the Flood that was coming from the path on the ice shelf.

Cortana's voice chimed into his ear.

"Head for the doorway in the cliffs, Chief. The Dawn is on the other side!" A blue waypoint appeared over an entrance into the next valley. The Chief and Arbiter proceeded along the ice shelf, mopping up the few Flood combat forms that were in their way, while managing to outrun the sentinels that they hadn't already shot down.

As soon as they got inside the doorway, the two realized that both the sentinels and the Flood were fighting each other. If it were any other given situation, John wouldn't have alerted the two sides of his presence until they were done fighting it out with each other, but the fact that the trembling ground beneath him would most likely explode in a matter of minutes made the situation a bit more pressed for time.

The Arbiter fired on the sentinels overhead while John took out the Flood who weren't busy attacking the sentinels. After eliminating a good amount of both factions, a dull throb pulsed in John's head, as the Gravemind used his telepathic abilities to communicate with the Chief.

++"_Resignation is my virtue. Like water, I ebb and flow_."++

Thankfully, the Gravemind wasn't yelling at him like it did last time when John had gone to rescue Cortana. This time however, it sounded sad. Even a little defeated.

++"_Defeat is simply the addition of time, to a sentence I never deserved..._"++ It continued. The throbbing pain in his head increased slightly.

++"_...but you imposed_." ++

The pain in his head stopped, though there was a faint sensation of it left behind.

The two continued to proceeded down the next hallway, 'bursting' the carrier forms that was ahead of them from a safe distance before killing all of the infection forms that spewed out of said carrier forms once they exploded.

Around the next corner was a ramp with a large group of infection forms coming into view. A quick burst from John's assault rifle and the Arbiter's plasma rifle took care of all but two of them, which they promptly ignored.

"There! Johnson's Warthog!" Cortana shouted as the vehicle came into view. The Arbiter got into the back seat with the M41 machine gun turret while John climbed into the driver's seat. The super soldier wondered if the Arbiter would've even known how to drive a UNSC vehicle. He allowed a rare smile to himself as the picture of the Arbiter trying to work a stick-shift came into mind. That would have been a sight to see.

The Chief began to drive out of the snowy area and onto the ring's unfinished portion. The metal plates that he was driving the Warthog on, which he guessed were the places where the artificial environment would have gone once the ring was finished, were the only things that were keeping him from falling to his death. As if the universe heard him, one of the plates literally exploded upwards right next to him. He got the distinct impression that their escape just got a lot more complicated.

The two were now driving toward a large, circular platform, segmented into different sections by large columns. Flood came spewing from the very center of the platform, though the Chief just ran over or just flat out avoided what the Arbiter didn't already kill with the turret.

And so it went, with the Chief driving and the Arbiter gunning down targets. All the while the unfinished ring blew up around them, and huge pillars came crashing down onto the metal plates and took down several Flood forms and Sentinels at the same time. The sentinels attempted to destroy the Warthog by firing their beam emitters from their bodies, only to have the M41 on the back of the Warthog tear through their shields and reduce them to scrap. Eventually, they came to a large hole on the route which forced the Chief to make a huge jump with the Warthog. It was then they spotted the forward section of Dawn sticking out from behind the edifice of a rock face, with the ship's name printed on the side in large white letters.

"Eighty percent charged!" Cortana said, reminding the Chief yet again that he was on a tight schedule.

The Arbiter stopped firing the turret on the back so he could reload it. The Spartan noticed this, and attempted to drive as smoothly as possible, but the constant explosions and waves of Flood and Sentinels made the execution of that task kind of difficult. The two rounded the rock face and were racing to the final stretch, with the Dawn at the end of it. A nearby, oddly-shaped pillar collapsed, taking several combat forms and even a sentinel with it.

"Ninety percent-firing sequence initiated!" They were now on a downward slope, with nothing between them and the Dawn's open hangar bay; except for the over two hundred-foot gap ahead of them.

"Gun it, Chief, floor it! Jump! Straight into the hangar!" Cortana screamed urgently into his ear.

He didn't need any further encouragement.

The Chief pushed down on the accelerator so hard that he could practically feel it straining under his boot. The Arbiter stopped firing as the Warthog went airborne. For a moment, there was almost complete silence; the only noise being made was the screeching sound of the Warthog's wheels spinning wildly.

And then the Warthog came crashing into the hanger, landed on its passenger side, flipped onto its back, and slid along the Hangar floor. The Arbiter and Chief began to pick themselves up when a Scorpion tank began to slide towards him. He took cover behind a pile of crates in the corner. Chief, now standing, quickly jumped over the crashed Warthog to see if he was still alive. Thankfully, a second later, the Arbiter began to force his way out of the pile of crates.

The Chief gave him a silent nod, and with a moment's hesitation the Arbiter promptly returned it before making a dash for the bridge. The Chief then ran and plugged Cortana's chip into the hangar's holotank.

"Hang on!" warned Cortana as she fired up the Dawn's rear thrusters, forcing the Chief to grab onto one of the metal bars next to the holotank. The pull of the Ark's gravity was increasing, as the Dawn climbed upwards. The Chief risked a brief glance behind him. The only thing that he could see was the Halo ring exploding in a brilliant array of colors. He looked forward again just in time to see the Warthog that he had drove into the hangar collide into him.

"Chief!" Cortana cried in alarm. The blow sent the Spartan tumbling down the Dawn's hangar until he punched a hole in the floor only a few feet from the entrance. He looked up, seeing a large object coming straight toward him, only to discover that the object in question was actually the Scorpion that had nearly crushed the Arbiter.

With only a few seconds left to act he flattened himself to deck as much as possible to avoid the sixty six ton hunk of metal careening towards him. He had just barely avoided it, as the gap in between the tank's treads provided enough space for him to avoid being hit a second time.

He slowly began to climb his way up the deck, with the Ark and replacement installation exploding brilliantly behind him. At this point he was completely exhausted, as he hadn't had a chance to rest after he had arrived on the Ark. Granted, Spartan's could stay awake for days at a time, but that didn't mean that they couldn't be affected by sleep deprivation either.

As he started pulling himself up to where Cortana was, Cortana started smiling and for a moment the Chief thought that he had seen something in her smile besides her usual playful attitude. Though this wasn't exactly the best time ponder on this. He pulled himself up, took out Cortana's chip, and braced himself against the now empty holotank.

"If we don't make it..." Cortana started to say.

"We'll make it." reassured the Chief, interrupting her.

"...it's been an honor serving with you, John."

The Chief closed his eyes and set his head against the holotank as a blinding white light flooded the hangar.

**==O==**

"Chief!? Chief can you hear me?"

The Chief cracked his eyes open, and immediately noticed that he was floating above the deck. He checked the pressure meter on his HUD, which confirmed that he was in a zero-gravity environment and his armor was properly sealed.

"I thought I'd lost you too." said Cortana with relief. The Chief spotted his assault rifle floating nearby and quickly caught it and placed it on his back.

"What happened?" The Chief asked as reoriented himself.

"I'm... not sure. When Halo fired, it shook itself to pieces. Did a number on the Ark. The portal couldn't sustain itself. We made it through just as it collapsed."

The Chief looked out towards the forward end of the ship. He saw that it had been sliced neatly in half.

"Well...some of us made it..."

The Chief drifted through the hallways until he arrived in a large room, with a row of cryotubes on the wall.

"But, you did it. Truth, the Covenant, and the Flood..."

He took out the blue chip out of his helmet and slid it into the room's holotank, and Cortana's avatar appeared before him.

"It's finished."

The Chief smiled slightly behind his helmet before agreeing with her.

"It's finished."

The Spartan then put his assault rifle on one of the racks on the wall.

"I'll drop a beacon, but...it'll be a while before anyone finds us...years, even."

The Chief climbed into a cryotube, and the door began to close.

"I'll miss you..." Cortana said softly as her holographic form looked down at her feet.

"Wake me... when you need me." he whispered back.

She quickly looked at the Chief in surprise, and then smiled the same mischievous little smile that she did when they were still at the Ark.

Even though she may not have seen it, but he returned it before the door to the cryotube finally closed.

**==O==**

In unknown space…

Cortana was still residing in the cryo room's holotank running a series of diagnostics while monitoring the cryo tube that contained the Master Chief, or John as she started calling him more often, while he was in suspended animation. In the meantime she had managed to keep what was left of the Dawn's limited but thankfully still intact array of sensors operational to keep a sharp eye out while the Spartan slept before her. She managed to keep track of the time and knew that it had been one year, three months, and ten days since the final battle on the Ark against the Gravemind, the Covenant Loyalists, the Flood, and the Prophet of Truth. It was finally over, and now they were floating in deep space onboard the Forward Unto Dawn awaiting rescue.

Naturally she had her doubts about being rescued so soon being so far outside UNSC space, but placed those musings aside for now as she had more important matters to think of. She recalled the promise she made to herself to help protect John from harm and keep him safe without compromising her loyalty to the UNSC and Humanity. It was something that helped her keep herself together while she had been trapped in High Charity and tortured by the Gravemind for a long time and it helped her pull herself together at the last moment when she felt herself nearly giving in to the overwhelming despair she felt when the Chief came to rescue her.

Cortana had decided to file away good portion of her data to the Dawn's computer banks for now. Mostly data on the Forerunners, the Flood, The Halo Arrays, and anything else that would be better kept stored someplace else to free up more space in her own memory system.

That had been a particularly demanding task for her as she had very limited power supplies to work with and some of the data archives on the still intact Forward Unto Dawn were already filled with other bits of data. So she selectively chose which of the data she needed to keep and erased the rest. With that done, she felt her internal processors stabilize and she was more able to operate more efficiently without being burdened with so much data. At least for now anyway.

As she rested she periodically made sure to keep some of her core systems online to keep watch over the area the Dawn was moving through and John as he slept. He had a lot of injuries but being a Spartan he was tougher than he looked which was why she knew he would be fine.

That certainly didn't mean that she was going to be lax in keeping a close eye on him even while she was resting herself.

However, as she recorded the movements of the ruined frigate through the void of space, something tripped her sensors and she quickly woke herself up from her hibernation and began to gather the information that was coming in from the external sensors. Apparently there was a planet nearby and from what she could gather it was a habitable one, and it had some strange energy readings coming from its surface.

The A.I. began to weigh upon her options. She knew that in the Dawn's current condition, there was no way that would be able return to Earth any time soon, so she had to make a decision on how to best proceed. The frigate was pretty much their only means of being rescued by a ship, but without any contact from incoming ships, they could be stuck floating through space on the Dawn for who knows how long.

On the unknown world's surface however, they would be able to find supplies, and be in a more stable location to establish contact and wait for rescue and even that presented risks. There was no telling if whatever, if any, species that called this place home would be peaceful or hostile.

And if they found her and John, there was no telling how they would react to them. However, from what she had been able to piece together from her scans, they didn't have a whole lot of options. On the surface, at least they would be able to set up a base camp and make a rudimentary beacon to call for help. And being in a single fortified location was far better than drifting aimlessly through space.

Having made her decision, she decided to run through the list of supplies and equipment onboard the Forward Unto Dawn before waking up the Spartan who had been her protector for years. They were going to need everything they could get in order to survive on this new world. She also needed to find a good place to land the frigate when she plotted its descent.

As she ran through the data stores, she also gathered what data she could of the planet. There appeared to be three large continents, one was an icy location and the other two were on either side of the said ice continent. She also spotted a massive storm in the middle, which surprised her because the storm in question dwarfed anything she had on record and it didn't seem to be moving either.

The other two continents were fairly balanced in appearance and environment, perfect for habitation. Not only that, but she also determined that the unique energy signatures she was picking up were genuine and not "ghost images" on her scanners.

Once she had done a full inventory check on the Dawn's supplies and equipment that remained, she decided to wake up John. She knew that they would have a lot of preparations to make before they land on the planet.

She quickly activated the low level systems online while making sure to check her Spartan's vital signs making sure that he was not too badly injured during his time in cryo-stasis. As soon as the systems came back online, she began to undergo the procedure of thawing out John while she checked his vitals. Relieved that his vital signs were all green, she looked to see the pod open and a massive wave of freezing gases came rushing out as she waited for John to wake up.

"Wake up John… I need you." Cortana whispered softly.

She didn't have to wait long as John began to move around a bit showing that he was finally waking up from his cryo-induced slumber in the pod. And from what she could see, he was doing all right considering how long he was in there.

As for John, he opened his eyes just as the MJOLNIR's OS began to activate the systems, he made a quick systems check and saw that despite the damage his MJOLNIR Mark VI Armor had sustained in the battles he had been in after escaping from the Ark, it was still in very good condition. He quickly ran a full systems diagnostics just to be on the safe side. Once that was done, he moved out of the pod slowly as the lack of gravity kicked in and he floated towards the holotank that Cortana was in.

"Enjoyed your nap there big guy?"

John smirked slightly inside his helmet at the expression on Cortana's face, he then noticed that she looked a little different, a bit lighter shade of blue than her usual violet color scheme and she seemed to be a bit more stable. He was quick to comment on said changes.

"You look no worse for wear."

"Yeah, I moved aside a lot of the data I stored up in my memory to free some processing space. It feels a lot better on my operating system too."

"So I noticed…is there something wrong?"

Cortana was quick to fill the Master Chief in on what she had discovered and the Spartan was quick to listen to what she had to tell him. He wasn't entirely thrilled by the fact that they had not been rescued by another ship yet nor that the only other option they had was landing on an entirely unknown world. But seeing as how they didn't have many other options at the moment, couldn't argue with her logic. Besides, being in one location would give them a chance to establish a base of operations and be able to send out communications to passing by ships instead of drifting around space and landing on an even less hospitable planet, well away from any possible shipping lanes.

With their options fully evaluated, the Spartan decided that they were going to have to take their chance landing on the planet and deal with whatever was down there. He moved to get his MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle from the weapon rack and moved to grab another floating weapon, a fully loaded M363 Remote Projectile Detonator or Rocket Pistol. Checking both guns and seeing that they were in good working order, he placed them on his back and right thigh, he made his way through the ship after placing Cortana back into his armor by sliding her data chip into the back of his head which started to tingle with the familiar cold mercury sensation.

"You know, no matter how times I leave your head I always find myself coming back to the same wide space. It's comforting…in a redundant sort of way." Cortana mused playfully out loud.

John rolled his eyes at that.

As soon as he got to one of the Dawn's armory rooms, he quickly began to gather what equipment he needed, spare packs of ammunition, weapons, communications gear, medical supplies and some much needed ration packs.

As soon as he was able to gather enough of the supplies, he made a trip to a nearby section where the ODST HEV pods were stored. He quickly began to load one of the pods with the supplies, weapons, communications gear, and spare ammunition he had gathered. Once that was done, he made his to another nearby HEV to see if it was also usable. Finding it to be adequate for use, he moved back to the armory room to get any other equipment he might have missed.

He managed to find a SRS99D-S2 AM Sniper Rifle with all the needed ammunition as well as a spare energy sword; apparently the Arbiter had left this behind, seeing as he had other spare swords and weapons to choose from. Knowing full well just how formidable this weapon was he decided to bring it along. After all, he had been on the receiving end of this weapon more times than he could count and even used it on a number of occasions. While he was more accustomed to fighting at long range, he was no slouch when it came to melee combat.

He placed the weapon on his back and decided to carry a standard issue combat knife as well in a metallic sheath on his left thigh, with that he made sure to a few more supplies for himself in the HEV he would be using.

After that he spoke to Cortana to work out the details to the plan if they were going to get down to the ground intact.

"So how are we going to get the Dawn will to land in one piece?" John asked.

"I'm planning to angle the Dawn's trajectory upon its descent in atmosphere, to make sure that the ship's armor plating won't under too much strain and it will be able to avoid being burned too badly by the atmospheric re-entry. The super structure might be badly damaged, but it should still be strong enough for both re-entry and landing. The angle I've set it to will also prevent the cut sections from being exposed to the ground on impact which will prevent any serious damage to the core systems and sections." Cortana explained.

"What about the rest of the ship's internal systems?"

"I plan to seal off the core sections and lock down the primary areas of the ship. There's enough power in the blast doors to do it despite being low on power. There should also be enough residual power from the Fusion Reactors to seal any remaining blast doors that doesn't have any power."

John nodded at that as he checked his inventory for the last time and then began to type in a command code into the other HEV's console to make it open only when he typed in the encryption key into the hidden console. The HEVs would be vital to his future operations once he hit planet side.

Once everything was ready, he got into the HEV with Cortana making the calculations. When she gave the signal, the Master Chief activated the deploy order. All he felt next was the sudden release of the clamps that held the HEV and was falling out of the Dawn just after Cortana launched a small but powerful satellite drone from the Dawn to act as their eyes and ears from orbit.

The Satellite itself was carrying solar power cells that were capable of recharging itself so the need to refuel was not an issue. And it had an onboard computer tor maintain its functions while the Spartan and the A.I. were on the surface and it would relay information to them easily enough. Once they set up shop anyway.

He looked at the Dawn through the on-board monitors as the remaining half of the frigate began to plunge into the atmosphere of the planet. As he watched he saw a deep orange glow with bright streaks that surrounded the Dawn which he that the frigate had just made contact with the outer atmosphere while his own and the second HEVs were already moving past it and was already well into the atmosphere. Despite the considerable heat shielding, the Spartan had no doubt that the atmospheric heat outside of his HEV was more than enough to fry a human in nanoseconds and melt the protective metal sheet into soup. Though John himself wasn't nervous at the prospect as he had done this many times before in his long career as a Spartan, but he knew the stories that revolved around HEV deployments.

HEV pods were the ODSTs best way to deploy rapidly onto a planet's surface, carrying enough supplies, spare weapons, a radio, portable power supply, and can serve as a temporary shelter if necessary. Other more dedicated variants can also be configured to store other items and equipment needed for commando operations as well as to establish command and control centers. However these deployments were prone to failing from time to time. Often ending with the unlucky occupant of the pod to either burn up in the atmosphere or fall straight into whatever was waiting for them on the ground…. hard.

Many in the ODST feared this kind of death as they often remarked that it was like digging your own grave. And he heard many stories of HEVs smashing into lakes, rivers, mountain sides, and more besides. That was why he was very careful when he selected the two HEVs he was using for the drop.

But the Chief was confident that none of those scenarios would happen as Cortana was very careful in her deployment of the HEVs and was more than up to handling this part of the mission. So all he had to do was sit back and wait for the HEV to land on the planet they would be calling home for a while.

**==O==**

**Author's Notes: Well I hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter. As a reminder this is my first fanfiction so I'm willing to accept any professional criticism. Also if anyone has any ideas or suggestions of what kind of missions the Chief could do I'll certainly consider those too. Just remember to review my story.**

**See ya later!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own World of Warcraft or Halo as those were developed by Blizzard Entertainment and Bungie Studios and subsidiary companies respectively.**

**Author's Notes: Alright chapter two is up and thanks to the folks who reviewed on my first chapter. This chapter was up so fast because I had already completed it not to long after my first one. Also just as a reminder, some of the wording in the paragraphs of the first few chapters goes to Freedom Guard, whose story ****_World of Warcraft Halo_**** served as an inspiration to mine. Anyone who reads and compares our two stories will know the difference. So without further delay, read and enjoy.**

"Talking"

_"Thoughts"_

**==O==**

**Chapter 1**

**Strangers on a Strange World**

**==O==**

A lush forest filled with exotic trees and chattering local wildlife was enjoying what would have been a quiet afternoon…

Needless to say the arrival of a pair of screaming UNSC HEVs falling from the sky was going to change that.

The first HEV pod smashed a good distance away from the other pod and landed a very fair distance south of it, crashing next to a nearby lake. While the second pod smashed into a group of trees, breaking a series of branches, with the wood being reduced to splinters in seconds as the HEV crashed with a resounding thud. As the dust began to settle, the HEV's metal casing seemed to cool off as smoke surrounded it briefly. Then a massive hissing sound was heard and the door blew off from the HEV, the released door was sent flying right into a large tree and smashed into the base of it with a resounding crunch, carving a swath of it by the sheer force of its impact.

With that over, the Spartan stood up from the seat and looked around to take stock of his surroundings, while Cortana scanned the area to see if she could find anything that John might have missed. And she was seeing a great deal of interesting things.

"Huh, these trees are enormous. There almost the same height as some of the trees back on Reach and some of the other colony worlds. Plus I'm picking up massive energy signatures; most of them doesn't seem to match up to anything I have on record."

The Spartan searched the area for a second time, looking for any potential threats. When he determined that he was in the clear, he moved out of the pod and loosened the sniper rifle from its rack. Then took the ammunition packs and stored them away in the pouches on his MJOLNIR.

Once he was sure that he had everything together for his weapons he moved out, but not before he stripped the pod of supplies and equipment. It took very little time or effort to complete, due to his enhancements. When he finished stripping the HEV of anything that could be useful, he placed the supplies into a rucksack and placed it on his back while using the magnetic plates on the rucksack to hold his assault rifle.

With that done, he spoke to Cortana as he looked to see the plume of smoke rising from where the frigate was located.

"How far are we from the Dawn?"

"Hold on, calculating now….we're at least two thousand kilometers away from it and it's near the coastline of a hilly terrain. I can bet that our little entrance didn't go unnoticed by anyone that maybe on this planet."

"Right, and the other HEV?"

"At least a full two thousand kilometers from our current position, it hasn't been tampered with as of yet and it's located in a valley of sorts near a rock face. I suppose we'll be heading that way first right?"

"Affirmative."

With that the Spartan moved out, holding the massive Sniper Rifle in front of him and moving through the undergrowth of the trees. His senses were fully attuned to the environment as he was focused on locating any hidden threats. After all, with no known data on this world or what lived on it, he would have to be extremely alert in his movements through this place.

As the Spartan moved through the dense foliage, he was quick to pick up several contacts behind him as his Motion Tracker had picked up movement. They weren't showing up as hostiles however as they seemed to be intent on keeping a fair distance from him and his sensors hadn't picked up any sort of weapon signatures on them. Cortana was quick to spot them and comment on it.

"Looks like we've got company." she warned.

"I see them. They don't seem hostile for the moment though, but that can easily change." John replied as watched the contacts on his HUD warily.

The Spartan decided to let the group follow him for the moment. Whoever or whatever they were, they were certainly trying their best to keep a good distance from him, no doubt trying to determine if he was a threat to them or not. As much as he wanted to act on his impulse to turn around and face these would be trackers, he decided to play along by pretending to not notice them and let them be. This way he would be able to use the MJOLNIR's built in sensors to keep an eye on them.

Of course he occasionally stopped to turn to a different direction every now and then. Doing so made his "trackers" stop and spread out in a pattern similar to what he recognized as an evasion and concealment maneuver. Whoever they were, they had a good grasp of military tactics and were doing their best to keep themselves out of his sight, not that it was doing them any good.

Apart from enhancing a Spartan II's already deadly eye sight, showing equipment status, and linking to the Spartan's Neural Interface, the helmet of the MJOLNIR Mark VI was armed with thermal and motion trackers, as well as built-in binoculars, solar powered flashlight, air filters for toxic atmospheres, a built in air supply for EVA work, built-in thrusters for rapid movement in zero gravity environments, and other functions as well. This was how he was able to spot his trackers so easily. He could see them through the thermal vision though he couldn't get a visual on them as they were well hidden in the undergrowth. As far as he could make out, their body temperatures were around average human temperatures, except for some slight differences. And judging by their numbers, they appeared to be in a group of at least a dozen or so.

Cortana then commented as they turned about and moved on, allowing their trackers to keep moving.

"They don't seem interested in attacking you yet. If they were part of the Covenant they would have already attacked us."

"I guess. Still, we don't know who or what they are so there's no sense in not taking precautions."

Cortana smiled at that and then she spoke.

"Hold up, I think I can hear them talking to one another. I'll try to listen in and hear what they're saying to each other."

**==O==**

"By Elune's grace…WHAT is that?"

The group of people who were following the Spartan as he moved through the dense forest was the Kal'dorei or the Children of the Stars. But to most of the residents in the lands of Kalimdor as well as Azeroth and those of both the Alliance and Horde races, they were more commonly known as the Night Elves. They had lived in the lands of Kalimdor for millennia and have taken part in a fierce conflict known as the Third War. They had once fought both the Alliance and the Horde when both factions came to the shores of Kalimdor, but then fought alongside them in battle to ensure the survival of their people when the Burning Legion had arrived to finish what they had started all those centuries ago. After the war, the Night Elves formed an alliance with the forces of the Alliance, which consisted of the Humans, the Gnomes, and the Dwarves, for their mutual defense and survival.

While many of the more traditional Night Elves weren't entirely fond about the idea of working with the younger races, those in the Sisterhood of Elune, their governing body, sees this alliance as a chance to defend their people until they fully recovered. Also, having already lost so many of their fellow kinsmen during the Third War, the Night Elves' leadership were unwillingly to risk losing any more lives just for their sense of pride. And while they were aware that not everyone in the Alliance trusted them, they were willing to ignore that issue to ensure the survival of their race.

This particular group of Night Elves that was tracking the Master Chief was a band of Sentinels, members of the military arm of the Night Elf race and they were mostly comprised of veterans from the Third War so they were naturally suspicious of outsiders. With them were a number of Druids who served as the support and healers for the group. They had pretty much seen everything that one could see in this world. But now they were tracking something that defied everything that they had ever witnessed before in their long lives.

They had been on patrol earlier when they spotted a massive flaming star that fell and crashed a good distance from them, along with two smaller ones heading in the opposite direction. As soon as the three objects hit the ground, they were shocked by the force of the impact. The impact from the larger one was enough to be felt even from their distance, powerful enough to rival an earthquake even. They had no clue as to what was going on but one of the Druids, a Druid of the Claw, suggested that they should investigate the smaller ones first and find out what they were and figure out if they came from the Burning Legion or not.

They found the first one and much to their surprise it was not an Infernal as some of them had feared. In fact, to their surprise it wasn't even generating a single shred of Fel energy at all. It seemed to resemble a strange egg-shaped metal object with four tall protrusions on the top, and had what appeared to be some form of glass on one area. They had no idea what it was, but they quickly tensed when the strange object suddenly cracked open in some areas to release steam. Then the side of the metal object that had the glass suddenly burst outwards and collided against a tree with a loud crash.

Then a massive behemoth of a being came into view before their shocked eyes. Even though they had seen many wonders and horrors over the years, the sight of the being before them was unlike anything the Night Elves had ever encountered before. It looked a lot like a human but it had green and black skin that, upon closer examination, resembled armor with a golden face plate that hid its face from them.

They managed to keep their distance from the being as they watched it strip the metallic object with ease, then it moved on once it was done. When it had turned to look at their direction, they quickly hid themselves from sight as best they could.

The leader of the band, Saelia Moonstrider looked at the human shaped behemoth with absolute concern and dread; she had NEVER seen anything like it before in her life. She had been a veteran archer and gained plenty of experience fighting not just the races of the Alliance and the Horde, but also against the Burning Legion's own minions as well, and had seen many things since the end of the Third War. But this massive human sized armored being before her surpassed anything that she had ever seen.

And the weapons it carried were unlike anything she had seen before as well. While they did have a certain resemblance to the guns she had seen the other races of the Alliance and the Horde would carry, but ones she was seeing before her looked completely different. She turned to one of her followers and spoke.

"Have you ever seen anything like that before?"

"No sister….even I have never seen it before. Could it be some manner of a new demon from the Legion's ranks?" replied another female Sentinel.

One of the other Druids shook his head.

"No…I'm not sensing any release of any Fel energy from its form, as such energies would have alerted our senses and would also be damaging the land as it moved."

"But how can we be certain of that? We have no idea just how many other minions the Legion has on their side, and this could be yet another one of them." asked the first Druid reluctantly. Suspicious that something so massive and alien could very well be part of the Burning Legion despite its apparent lack of Fel energy.

The same Druid shook his head once more.

"I doubt it. I have seen many of the Legion's agents use weapons before such as guns with infernal magic….but the ones this being is carrying doesn't match any of them at all."

Saelia weighed their options and decided that they would have to continue to keep track of this new arrival. And if it was a threat, then they were going to have to try and stop it from reaching their villages, though she had her doubts on how well she and her veteran comrades would be able to fight this being before them.

Regardless, she knew her what duty was and she was not going to allow herself to make any mistakes in dealing with such an unknown being. She took out her bow and motioned for her group to follow and continue tracking the green and black armored giant.

While they followed the Spartan, conversations were still exchanged between them on what they would have to do with this new possible threat.

"We need to alert the others about this being quickly."

"I agree, but we must be cautious. This being is unknown to us at the moment and attacking it might very well be a mistake."

Several more discussions were flying between the Night Elves which were kept in hushed tones so as not to attract the unwanted attention of the being they were tracking.

All the while, Saelia was still trying her best to ponder her options on how to deal with this new being. Should she approach it with peaceful intentions? Strike quickly and hope that she and her party could slay it before it became a threat? Observe it's progress and hope that it steered clear of their settlements?

So many thoughts ran through the Night Elf's head as she kept her eyes dead center on her quarry.

Every so often, the group's conversation would go silent when the entity turned to look around, hoping to avoid it, and when it moved they would talk again to consider their course of action while trying to determine exactly who or what this stranger was.

**==O==**

Little did the Night Elves realize, their supposedly hushed and private discussions were already being monitored by their "quarry".

The MJOLNIR Mark VI had remarkable sensors as it was needed for the kind of high-risk operations that the Spartan IIs would take part in. And the auditory sensors were part of it, being able to filter out ambient noises to focus on specific ones was an advantage that the Spartan IIs took full advantage of in all of their battles with the Covenant. Being able to hear a water droplet hitting the ground in the middle of a monsoon was a deadly advantage when it came to avoiding ambushes.

John himself had above average hearing and while that could have been further augmented, Dr. Halsey the other scientists agreed that doing so would have been counter-productive and would very dangerous as a sensitive ear could have been a major liability during a fire fight as the numerous noise levels might have strained their ears and thus weaken the Spartans' concentration and leave them vulnerable. That and the fact that the MJOLNIR was more than capable of handling that was one of the many reasons why that particular augmentation wasn't given to them.

The conversations coming from his trackers told the Spartan that these beings were intelligent enough, having such articulate and high level communication skills. He could also tell from the rhythm of the tones and pitches that the group was co-gendered with a mix of male and female voices. The one thing that really set him on edge was the fact that their language was unlike anything he had heard of as the Night Elves were speaking in their native dialect Darnassian, which was totally foreign to the Spartan and his A.I. companion.

"Cortana, can you translate anything their saying?" John asked. Wanting to learn whatever they were most likely discussing about him.

The A.I. listened in and after a few moments, she replied.

"Negative John, their language is completely foreign to me. It doesn't match anything I have in the UNSC or Covenant databases so I can't really translate it. Whoever they are, they're defiantly an unrecorded race."

John was afraid that this might have been the case; this was undoubtedly a First Contact scenario for sure. Here he was with Cortana on an unknown world with unknown aliens tracking him. They were certainly not of the Covenant Separatists or the Loyalists since the former would have revealed themselves to him to aid him in some fashion. While the later would have just settled for killing him. And there were obviously not Flood, as the Flood wouldn't have bothered to stalk him and would have just tried to convert him into one of their twisted Combat or Command Forms. That train of thought turned his stomach a bit at the idea of being part of a new Gravemind.

While even Spartans aren't without fear, their not as prone to feel them as most humans, especially John as he simply accepts it and puts it aside so the most he was feeling right now was unease.

While he could have turned around and dealt with his pursuers, John needed to learn more about them first before he made his move. Even if he was a Spartan with a near spotless record, he wasn't going to take any risk in antagonizing these possible allies.

Besides, he was alone and with few supplies and fewer options until he could find the other HEV that carried the equipment he needed to set up shop for a while until he got back to the Forward Unto Dawn.

It was then the Spartan decided that now was the right time to lose his pursuers and turn the tables on them for a change. Cortana was quick to pick up on the idea.

"Good idea, at least we can see just who's tailing you."

And with that, the Spartan was quick to take off at break neck speeds through the trees. This was just a light jog for the Spartan, but the results of his sudden movement had the desired effect on his pursuers.

**==O==**

"By the Goddess!" shouted one the Night Elves in surprise.

Saelia and her fellow Sentinels were shocked out of their minds when the massive giant suddenly took off before their eyes with speed and agility that was more than what they had expected from such a massively armored being. They tried to chase after it but when they finally arrived to a nearby clearing, the massive being had just vanished. Saelia had no idea what to do in this situation and looked around in absolute worry.

Unbeknownst to her and the rest of her band, they were now the ones who were being watched by the Spartan.

John was hiding behind several large rocks that formed a wall of rock that gave a well hidden bird's eye view of the area. The Spartan looked through a crack in it as he watched the Night Elves.

**==O==**

As John and Cortana looked at their pursuers the only thing that they came to both of their minds was this…

These people were definitely NOT Covenant.

"Who are they?" asked Cortana with shocked amazement.

John looked at the Night Elves, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. They appeared to be physically similar in both height and body profile to humans. The Spartan saw however that they were superficially different from the human race. They all had purple skin; though he noticed some of them had lighter and darker shades of the same skin tone. They also had long ears that pointed backwards, different colored hair, odd tribal markings on their faces and bodies, and glowing eyes. He also noted that the men who were there had amber glowing eyes while the women had silver, light blue, or teal glowing eyes.

The females who were in the group appeared to be warriors; their body structure confirmed it as the Spartan looked at them intently with a soldier's eye. They had the muscle tone and structure to show combat training and the way they moved and carried themselves showed their skill as trackers and archers, along with the fact that most of them carried such weapons. The Spartan also saw their armor, or at least what passed as armor. They also wore some sort of short tank top with scales that had metal rims on them, along with armored pauldrons with the same scale-like design with the same metal rims around it that glittered in the afternoon light as well as feathers from some native bird species on them.

They also had something that resembled armored thigh and hip guards with the same scale patterned design that had metal outer plating on them of an unknown design. They also had arm guards made from what seemed to be leather with metal guards and leg guards that ended above the knee.

The women's bows were made from some sturdy looking wood and it appeared that the bows were made with excellent craftsmanship. Their short swords seemed to be made with the same level of proficiency as the bows.

As for the men, they appeared to be very strong in terms of muscle structure and size, wearing leather armor, and carried staves adorned with crystals and feathers. While another group of men carried what appeared to be long claws of metal or hard bone on their forearms like fist weapons. Their amber eyes glowed as they too, and they were no doubt trying to track him down alongside their female kin.

"What exactly are we looking at Cortana?" John finally asked Cortana.

For once as long as he had known her, Cortana was speechless, at least for a moment or two until she finally spoke.

"I'm not sure, perhaps an off shoot of humans maybe…. it could be the result of genetic mutations and the like, but I'm not so sure of that. One thing is for sure, they aren't Covenant and they aren't carrying ANYTHING that we recognize. In fact, the armor and weaponry their using looks almost like what was used during the early 10th century B.C. and A.D. eras."

This left John to wonder to himself.

"_Just what kind of planet did we land on?"_

He was soon shaken from his train of thought when several loud cries were heard and out of nowhere came a large number of other beings. The Spartan was quick to turn and face them. What both he and Cortana saw surprised them once more.

The new comers were certainly different from the ones they had been studying a few minutes ago. They were green skinned humanoids who looked huge and were nearly as tall as John, both in and out of his MJOLNIR Mark VI armor. They appeared to have long beards and had a pair of lower tusks like teeth that jutted from their lower jaws prominently. They also had flat noses that resembled those of pigs, and pointed ears that were like that of the previous race that the Spartan was watching yet not nearly the same length. While the first race was human like in form and appearance, this new group was clearly different and their choice of armor reflected that difference as they wore different sections of armor that were of metal and leather.

Some of them also carried axes and spears with the former weapons looking wicked and razor sharp, and the latter looking just as deadly. Others were dressed in robes that had odd symbols on them and they seemed to have some sort of energy glowing from their hands. The last creature was huge, a two headed monster that carried a wicked club the size of a tree trunk with steel bands on it with a thick, sharpened stone head on top.

One thing that John noted about the new arrivals was that they had in common was the display of a hammer like tattoo on their bodies, clothing, and armor.

Cortana was even more surprised by this as she spoke.

"Who or what are they?" she asked once again amazed at what she was seeing.

She got the answer to her question as one of the female warriors shouted out in what was shockingly in almost perfect English.

"Orcs!" the woman shouted in alarm.

One of the now identified Orcs roared out and raised it's weapon, a spear, and aimed it at the other group and shouted in English as well, which further shocked John and Cortana.

"Kill those pathetic Night Elves!" the Orc bellowed with a roar.

The Spartan watched as the two groups suddenly fought one another, the women fired arrows into the beings called Orcs and managed to kill a number of them who were charging at them at full speed. This however didn't seem deter the Orcs as a few of them returned the favor by throwing their spears and firing their own arrows into the Night Elves' ranks wounding several in the process. Their wounds varied from scratches to more critical wounds.

These Orcs apparently didn't come alone as reinforcements of their kind began to pour from where the previous ones came from and charged at the Night Elves, roaring and bellowing as they did.

The Night Elf men started to assist and to the shock of the Spartan, the men that were armed with staves unleashed small tornadoes that stopped several Orcs dead in their tracks and sent them flying into the air. While the other men who were armed with the claws seemed to be roaring out, this caused the women hit with greater force and power.

"Incredible…." breathed Cortana who was trying to comprehend what just happened.

Not willing to be outdone, the Orcs began to unleash their own powers as Fel magic appeared on the battlefield. Waves of fire and dark glowing bolts of red energy flew into the air and struck at the Night Elves. Some of the women suddenly screamed in pain, dropping their bows and holding their heads as if gripped in a nightmare. Some of the men were also being scorched by the bolts of fire.

John weighed his options quickly, he knew that getting involved in this fight between two totally unknown species with unknown abilities was a powder keg of trouble ready to blow, and the last thing he needed was to be the spark that set it off.

On the other hand, these Night Elves or whatever they were could hold the answers to the questions he had. John knew that whatever decision he made could very well determine his fate with one blow. Yet he didn't seem to have any other choice as he knew nothing of this world. And from what he could see from the way the Orcs fought, they were fanatical and brutal. Spartans had been trained to see the state of a person's mind by how they fight. And from what he could see in the way the Orcs' fought, they were murderous and fanatical, not the sort allies that someone would have unless it was under the most dire of circumstances. As it stood, the Night Elves seemed like the better choice to aid.

"We're going in." the Chief finally said.

Cortana let out a small sigh.

"I was afraid you'd say that. But what the heck, I like your brand of action anyway big guy. Just one question, who exactly are we going to help in this little party?"

The Spartan replied by positioning his sniper rifle to his shoulder and taking aim at his first target of the late afternoon.

**==O==**

BANG!

One of the Twilight's Hammer Clan Orc Warlocks had just enough time to let out a roar just as he lost his head...literally. Both the Night Elves and the remaining members of the Twilight's Hammer looked on in shock and stopped dead in their tracks as the spell caster who was providing support for Twilight's Hammer hit the ground as a headless corpse.

Another shot rang in the air as the round smashed into another Warlock. The impact sent bloody flesh and bone spraying in different directions as the unfortunate Orc now had a gaping hole in his chest. He could only gape in shock as he watched a river of his own blood flooded out of his mouth and chest as he dropped dead.

They wouldn't be alone for long as two more Warlocks were suddenly shot with the first Warlock having half his arm and a portion of his chest ripped off by the sheer force of whatever it was that hit him. The second Warlock also had a massive hole where his stomach used to be and hit the ground with a wet thump.

The silence that followed left both groups equally stunned. But when some of the Orcs tried to attack again they were greeted by another series of roars that ripped through the legs of another Orc with brutal force. Then something else landed on the ground with a ping in front of several Orcs followed by a fiery explosion. As the smoke started to clear, observers saw that the Orcs who were caught in the explosion were crying out in pain and shock as some of them had their limbs blown off while others had open wounds on their bodies.

The Night Elves tried to grasp what had happened; they had lost their unknown quarry and then they were attacked by Orcs, and now it seemed that something was killing the Orcs for them.

It was at this point that the two sides finally saw something come out from a cave not too far from them. It was the Spartan himself who still carrying that massive rifle that made what the Dwarves of Ironforge used look like a simple toy.

The Spartan said nothing as he fired another round, this time it cut into three of the still stunned Orcs and killed them. The round tore through their bodies like tissue paper as the stench of gunpowder filled the air.

The Orcs roared in anger as they charged right at the green and black armored being who tossed the rifle and unloaded another one. Then with near godlike speed he charged straight into the Orcs, firing at them as he did. The sound of the weapons fire, a flash of fire, the smell of gun powder, and the deaths of Orcs was shocking to those who saw it. All the stunned Night Elves could do was stand and as the giant tore through the ranks of the Orcs with ruthless efficiency.

The Spartan was quick on his feet, cutting down Orcs with controlled bursts of fire from his Assault Rifle. The ones that got close tried to cut the Spartan down with their own bladed weapons, but they didn't get very far as the Spartan lashed out with powerful counter attacks. One Orc was sent flying back with a powerful strike to the neck that broke it instantly, another got kicked in the chest and was sent smashing hard into another tree, breaking several ribs. One more got kneed in the gut was then promptly shot in the face with a controlled burst from his assault rifle's rounds, reducing her face into bloody ribbons.

And soon enough the rest of the Orcs were learning that attacking the Spartan was a fatal mistake on their part as the unknown being was proving to be deadly in close combat.

The Spartan quickly reloaded his assault rifle while taking out his combat knife and slashed out with such blinding speed and accuracy as he killed more Orcs by cutting their throats while evading their weapons. As they dropped dead and bleeding, several more Orcs were killed by accelerated rounds from the assault rifle which sliced through the Orcs' armor with terrifying ease.

The Spartan also pulled out his rocket pistol as he threw his combat knife right into the chest of another attacking Orc that was armed with a spear. And before the Orc could even look to see the weapon, it was already lodged deeply in his chest. The Spartan then quickly turned and fired his rocket pistol at another Orc that was behind him. When the mini-rocket collided with the Orc it knocked him into two more of his comrades then the mini-rocket detonated, reducing the three Orcs into a bloody mist.

Another Orc tried to attack quickly with his axe but the Spartan reloaded and fired another mini-rocket and stopped the Orc dead in his tracks with his axe was sent skidding on the ground as his arm was blow off. Before the Orc could get back up to retrieve the discarded axe, the Spartan beat him to it and flung the axe right into the face of the Orc. The Spartan quickly drew out the assault rifle again and cut down several more Orcs that charged at him. The Orcs now realizing who the greater threat was focused all of their attention on the Spartan as he proved to be a far more dangerous than the Night Elves.

The massacre went on until the Twilight's Hammer group unleashed their Gronn to crush this monster in human form. The Gronn wasted no time in attacking the Spartan as it charged while swinging it's stone hammer. But the only thing it got for its trouble was it's chest being torn apart by the Spartan's weapon as the rounds were quickly able to penetrate the Gronn's thick hide. At this point the assault rifle went dry and then the Gronn attacked, swinging it's hammer once more as the Spartan placed the weapon on his back.

The stone head covering weapon missed the Spartan as he leaped over it and charged straight toward the Gronn and delivered a powerful punch into it's shredded chest, grinding past the hard hide with ease, sending the twenty foot Gronn stumbling back with it roaring in pain and fury while hurling out wads of spittle and blood from the force of the attack. The Spartan followed with a spinning kick to the side that smashed hard into the Gronn's lower jaw, shattering it with amazing force, forcing the creature to actually reel from the assault.

The one eyed creature barely had time to react as the Spartan quickly took out what appeared to be a barbell sized device, which then a strange glowing blade appeared around it. The Spartan quickly decapitated the Gronn's head, leaving the now headless corpse collapsing to the ground in a bloody heap. More Orcs charged at the Spartan as he readied his energy sword and much to their horror, the weapon that the Spartan held in his right hand could cut through armor, flesh, and bone as if it was nothing. With the smell of burning flesh, super-heated metal, and ozone filling the air as the Spartan continued to slash out with the Sangheili Energy Sword and cutting down one Orc after another.

One of the surviving Warlocks unleashed a powerful fireball spell at the Spartan, with the Spartan receiving a hit as he turned to face the incoming fireball.

The remaining Orcs roared in triumph and the Night Elves thought that their unexpected ally was dead, but that changed when several Orcs were blown apart along with the Warlock who twitched a bit due to the bullets that bored into him as he fell dead. The surviving members of the Twilight's Hammer forces looked on in dread as the Spartan appeared from the clearing inferno unharmed. The last warlock roared in anger and tried to unleash yet another fireball. But the Spartan was faster as he was in front of the Warlocks and cutting them down with his energy sword before they realized what was happening. With the Warlocks dead the rest of the Orcs tried to attack the Spartan with arrows, only for them to be greeted by the Spartan's energy shields which were unknown to the Orcs and their arrows bounced off with ease. Crackling blue energy glowed in the fading afternoon as the Spartan easily countered with his energy sword.

The Twilight's Hammer Clan was widely known for their nihilistic nature and so they didn't retreat as they attacked. This only made them easy prey as the Spartan moved away and placed aside his energy sword and returned to using his assault rifle to finish off the rest of them. By the time the battle was over, an entire Orc raiding party had been laid waste by the Spartan. As he walked over the bodies he started to methodically kill the Orcs who were still alive after the carnage by performing execution shoots in the head. All the while the light from the rising moon reflecting off his armor and helmet's visor, with the bursts of fire from his rifle further added to the image of an armored being of death.

After he was done making sure that all of the Orcs were dead, he turned to his attention to the Night Elves after loading fresh magazine into all his weapons and decided to speak with them, hoping that he had made the right choice in helping them fight these Orcs.

The said Night Elves were still shocked at the sight of the Spartan walking towards them through the bloody battlefield seemingly unharmed. They had seen many brutal battles before and had taken part in their fair share of them, but this was something that was unlike any battle that they had seen, all due to the fact that so many of the enemy had been utterly massacred by only one being. As soon as it was before them, they were tense and ready to defend themselves, though from what they saw of the Orcs fate they doubted that they would have much success in that regard. However, the unknown being placed its weapon aside and they finally heard its voice.

"Who are you and why have you been following me?" asked the being tersely with a male voice.

The female Night Elves looked at the giant with great shock, awe, and fear, while the men were also still trying to figure out what to do. Night Elf men were strong individuals but this giant of a being was more than enough to make them look weak, he had punched an Gronn right in the stomach, punched through it's extremely thick hide, and made the Gronn to literally spit it's guts out before he decapitating the creature's head with that glowing blade.

After regaining her composure, Saelia finally decided to speak out. Since this behemoth seemed to speak the human language, she decided to return the favor by using the human tongue to find out who or what this being was.

"I am Saelia Moonstrider, a Sentinel of the Night Elves, who are you?"

**==O==**

**Author's Notes: Alright chapter two is done! Just remember to review and feel free to make any suggestions for this story as I will consider them. And don't worry, the third chapter will be up soon so until then, farewell and happy reading!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own World of Warcraft or Halo as those were developed by Blizzard Entertainment and Bungie Studios and subsidiary companies respectively.**

**Author's Notes: Here's chapter three! Sorry it took so long but I had to take care of some college work. Furthermore, I received some helpful messages about some mistakes I made on the last chapter so I updated it and corrected whatever mistakes I could find. Now that that's settled, on to the story!**

"Talking"

_"Thoughts"_

**==O==**

**Chapter 2**

**New Friends…or Foes?**

**==O==**

John stared at the apparent leader of the group who introduced herself as Saelia Moonstrider. Like some of her companions she had glowing silver eyes and wore the armor that he noted among the trackers and archers earlier. Her weapons comprised of a sheathed sword strapped to her hip guard, a quiver of arrows slung around her back, and held a bow in her hands. Just like her fellow Night Elves, she had violet skin but hers was of a lighter hue and had a white stylized facial tattoo on her left cheek that ended at the jawline with a curve, while her long black hair ended just past the shoulder line.

Making sure not to reveal herself to the Night Elves, Cortana decided to voice her opinion.

"Ordinarily I wouldn't suggest revealing any critical information, let alone your identity, but we're short on information. You don't have to go into details so just tell her who you are. And I suggest that you also mention what you are. After your little performance I can bet that they might think that you're a demon so let's not leave them with that impression."

The Spartan scoffed a bit at that.

"Alright, but that doesn't mean I have to like it." John replied sourly.

Cortana laughed gently at that.

"It's up to you John, but not answering a woman's question is considered rude after all." she pointed out teasingly.

"Fine."

With that John directed his attention to the Night Elf leader and replied to her question in crisp military fashion, as he was trained to do ever since Reach.

"Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan Sierra-117, a member of the UNSC Navy." he stated with formal discipline.

This however only seemed to confuse the Night Elves even more as they looked at him with utter bewilderment. John wondered what he should do now; he was more used to fighting Covenant, Flood, and Insurrectionists. Diplomacy was definitely not one of his strong points as that was somewhat outside his particular area of expertise since he had been trained to fight and the only kind of diplomacy he was in usually involved him escorting trained diplomats. But seeing as how he didn't have the luxury of consulting a diplomat, he decided to wait and see if they wanted to ask any more questions and determine his responses accordingly. Sure enough, asked questions they did, or at least Saelia did as she was the leader of the group.

"What is this UNSC you speak of? What sort of name is that?" she asked incredulously.

"I am Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan Seirra-117, but if you want something shorter to call me by, just call me Master Chief, or Chief. As for the UNSC, it is the organization that I have been serving for over thirty years of my life as a Spartan." John replied with maintained professionalism.

Saelia looked straight at the being's "head", leaning her neck slightly back as she did so. While this "Chief" was not quite as tall as some of the male Night Elves, but he was still fairly tall and the sheer power and skill he displayed made him a force to be reckoned with, there was no doubt in her mind about that. And quite honestly, staring at his face plate with her reflection looking back at her had perturbed her slightly. But she was a veteran warrior and she was not going to allow herself to be intimidated by anything or anyone. But she also realized that in the manner the stranger had spoken to her and from the way he fought the Orcs, she reflected that this Chief, like her, was an experienced warrior. She then decided to find out more about this mysterious stranger and his intentions.

"Very well… Chief, what race are you?" she finally asked, her voice tinged with curiosity.

The Spartan replied to that with only one word.

"Human."

Needless to say the Chief's response had greatly shocked the Night Elves. They had met the humans before though not under the best of circumstances when the two species first met, but the idea that this entity before them being human? They had never heard of humans having such a fearsome warrior in their ranks. Where was this warrior during the Third War? If he had been there, he would have been quite a deadly asset in fighting the Burning Legion. Were there others like him? Was this UNSC this giant spoke of part of the Alliance from Lordaeron as well? If he was why was he not with them when they came here to Kalimdor?

So many questions were flying in the minds of her companions but Saelia had only two, and she was not going to let them remain in her mind for too long.

"Can you prove that you are human?" Saelia asked with suspicion.

John had to give this….Saelia woman some credit, she was not easily intimidated by him and that was rare. Most human soldiers in the UNSC were usually either in awe, fear, and a few who were resentful of the Spartan while the Covenant, depending on which side, had other reactions. The Separatists had respect, while the Loyalists had hatred.

This Night Elf female wasn't showing any of those emotions and seemed focused on trying to make sure that he was not a threat. He could tell that much from reading her body movements and the way she looked at him.

"I am human, that's all that you need to know for the time being." John replied in a matter-a-factly tone.

Saelia frowned at that. She was annoyed and a little angry of course, but she kept her temper in check and reminded herself that fighting this being was not exactly the wisest course of action, considering how he easily slaughtered the Orcs and the Gronn. However she did have one more question and decided to ask it quickly in order to figure out what she should do next.

"All right, to my next question then. Is this UNSC you serve located in the lands of Azeroth and part of the Alliance?" she asked, hoping that the forthcoming answer would be enough to help her decide.

"No." the Chief replied with a shake of his head.

Now Saelia was even more confused than before. Here was a supposed human who was telling her that he was not from Stormwind itself, the capital city of the Humans, even more than that, he was telling her that his faction was not part of the Alliance and was not on the continent of Azeroth. This puzzled her a great deal and she wasn't getting close to answers that made any sense to her. For now, she decided to set those questions aside for the moment and focus on the more pressing issue.

"Where are you going now?" she asked.

"Back to my ship and set up a base of operations. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get moving." replied the Chief.

The Spartan turned and began to head off in a different direction in order to get to the other HEV. But before he could proceed, the woman had already moved in front of him, much to his surprise as well as that of Cortana's. She then had an arrow notched in her bow and aimed it right at his visor.

This woman had guts to be aiming an arrow that was ridiculously useless against his shields, much less his MJOLNIR armor, but he had to respect her daring. The other Night Elves seemed stunned by their leader's actions, but they didn't try to stop her.

That showed how much they respected their leader and the Spartan could certainly understand that. But he really didn't have the time for this.

"Why are you aiming that arrow at me?" John asked calmly, careful in not trying to appear too antagonistic.

"I do not trust you Chief, I am a Sentinel and my duty has always been to the safety of my people and my homeland. You may have saved my life and the lives of those in my patrol, and for that I do thank you, but I cannot just let you wander in this land without supervision. Doing so would be a violation of my oath to protect my people. I do not know for sure who or what you are or even if you truly are human. And until I find out who you are and where you come from, you are not taking another step further into the forests of Kalimdor." Saelia replied with steely conviction.

The Spartan couldn't help but feel a faint smirk form on his face.

"_This woman is a soldier through and through…. she is duty bound to protect her people and world, willing to give her life to protect them. Something that we both have in common and I can respect that_." he thought admiringly.

"I can assure you that I am no threat to you or your people. In fact, you're people may be able to help me." said John in an attempt to placate the women.

"Explain yourself now." Saelia demanded curtly, wary of the Chief's intentions regarding her people.

"My ship crashed landed not too far from here and while I do have it's location, I don't have the necessary knowledge of this land or it's people. Aside from the Orcs I helped kill, you're race is the first I have encountered and I am not here to wage war on anyone. If you like, you can accompany me to my ship so you can be assured that I won't cause trouble. I also have a proposal."

Saelia relaxed a bit and spoke once more.

"What do you have in mind?"

"I'll prove to you that I am not a threat. I will also help you fight any possible threats we might encounter along the way. In return, you can tell me just where exactly that I have landed on."

"Why?"

"I am in an unknown land, surrounded by unknown races, cultures, civilizations and others. I need information of cultures, customs, social hierarchies, factions…everything. I need to know who the sides are and what the situation is here so I can make informed decisions that will be the key to my survival on this world which is no doubt your home. Information is power and I need information, which is what you have." the Chief explained.

Saelia thought it over and weighed her options. The offer sounded sincere and she decided that she and her group would greatly benefit from the being's skills and weapons when it came to fighting other threats, especially when they fought with the Orcs. She also thought about what he was asking from her. As he said information was a powerful thing, however she was very careful when she considered this train of thought.

Information was a very valuable commodity and Saelia was aware of it's power. After all, it was with information that they were able to survive the war with the Burning Legion. If she gave this stranger the information he wanted what was he really going to do with it. She knew that she would have to decide quickly since there was no telling what would happen if they stayed here much longer.

"Very well, I accept your proposal. But let me make one thing clear, if you do anything that I consider a threat, I will not hesitate to fight you, even if I die doing so." Saelia replied evenly.

With that the Night Elf left and returned to the rest of her group to check on the wounded and injured while the Spartan was left alone to speak to his companion.

"Not bad, not bad at all. We get them on our side for now and you get information on this world we happen to be in. You've gotten rather quick on the tongue there big guy." Cortana commented with evident amusement in her voice.

The Spartan simply shrugged.

"I suppose, but it was the best option."

"I know. But it's safe to assume that they are very aware that you are more than capable of taking them on in a fight despite their numerical superiority. The fact that you will be willing to help them might put them in a more relaxed mood. Not only that, but the extra hands will come in handy since we do have limited supplies until we get to the second HEV since there is no telling what other creatures that we might have to deal with until we get there. Plus they know the lay of the land so we might get access to shortcuts to save time. Still, that woman certainly has guts, aiming an arrow at you like that, I like her spirit."

John snorted a bit in good humor as he also had to respect the woman who only moments ago had aimed an arrow right at his helmet's face plate. Not many did that to a Spartan and he saw the look of determination in her silver eyes. She was a veteran of many battles and no doubt this made her braver than most people. He then looked back at the woman as she checked her comrades, both male and female to see the extent of their injuries. He saw the ones with the clawed weapons casting some sort of spell that seemed to help mend the wounds of their allies.

Cortana took a quick interest at what she was seeing.

"Remarkable….whatever those men are doing it seems to help stimulate the natural regenerative properties of the body. I am picking up some weird energy readings coming from them though I don't detect any massive energy readings that would signify an attack." she noted with fascination.

The Spartan nodded as he saw that the wounds of the Night Elves were beginning to mend before his eyes. He moved a little closer to allow Cortana a better view and there he saw some of the wounds closing up right in front of him. Then he realized that the number of wounded was a bit higher than the number of healers they had with them and an idea clicked to him.

He placed his weapons aside while removing the rucksack from his back and opening it to see what supplies he had with him for treating wounds. He had made sure to pack extra medical supplies for any kind of situation even though his MJOLNIR Mark VI had built-in Biofoam injectors with a self-sustaining supply of Biofoam.

Spartans were trained for anything and everything so he brought all he needed when it was possible. That was something that his mentor and trainer Senior Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez had trained into him and his fellow Spartans since they were young and that lesson had saved them more than once. Most people who would see the harshness and ruthlessness of the man's training of such young children would call Mendez a sadist and a monster, but the Master Chief knew otherwise.

Mendez's lessons had been invaluable in shaping him and his fellow Spartans into the soldiers they were today. Those skills, abilities, and knowledge were the keys to not just their success but also their survival. They would not have lasted as long as they had without his training, and that training helped them turn what would have been lose after lose into a tactical victory during the wars with the Covenant. Mendez was a father figure to them and that was why no matter what others thought of the man, John and his fellow Spartans always thought highly of him whenever they looked back on their past lives.

He found that he had more than enough supplies and moved over to one of the wounded Night Elves. He then opened one of the Health kits to begin treatment but was stopped by Saelia.

"What are you doing?" she asked while looking at his equipment with suspicion.

"Showing you that you can trust me for the time being. I will help tend to the wounded in your group."

"Our Druids can tend to that." Saelia countered.

"True, but they will need to use their magic in combat as well and the quicker your people are treated the faster we can get moving." the Chief pointed out.

Saelia looked at the Spartan for a bit and while she didn't show it, she understood what he was saying. Rejuvenation magic took time to work and since they were a fairly large patrol they had to wait for the magic to take full effect so travel was not possible, especially when wounds and injuries would prove to be a problem for them. Though personally she wondered just what sort method of healing could this….Master Chief give to her people. After seeing how much carnage he could unleash, the idea of this entity being a healer was rather hard to swallow. However she decided to try and see for herself if what this Chief said was true.

"Then you may do so, but I will be watching you closely."

The Master Chief nodded then quickly got to work, taking out several canisters of Biofoam as well as some self-sealing and adhering antiseptic bandages, some morphine, and a stitch kit. When he got what he needed together, he went to work patching up the wounded Night Elves. Before he started he gave them warnings that the Biofoam would sting a bit at first and sure enough it did, making the women hiss in pain. But it only lasted for a second and soon he was placing bandages on the wounds. For the more serious cuts, he uses the stitches to seal up the wounds carefully, used the morphine to dull the pain, used the Biofoam to seal the injuries, and then applied the bandages.

Spartans were no strangers to doing first aid. After all, they had to treat their own injuries as well as that of their fellow Spartans as part of their training in order to survive on the battlefield. Despite their near invincible and supposedly merciless war machine reputations they were able to heal and treat wounds to keep themselves in top fighting form. The work to heal injures only took the Spartan about half an hour at best since there were a number of others who needed treatment. Once the Master Chief was satisfied with the results of the work he had done, he got up and left.

The Spartan was busy gathering his supplies as he looked at the recovering Night Elves he had treated. Seeing them get back on their feet told him that his work was done, though he made sure to warn them that the medicine was temporary since the effects would wear off in a few hours. But overall their wounds would be fine once they were further healed by their comrades.

The Chief's words was proven true as the Druids found that they only needed to cast less of their magic on the wounded as their bodies were already healing. This allowed them to reserve more of their magic for other situations they might find themselves in. Even the other female Night Elves were impressed by how quickly their wounds had healed as the Spartan moved to recover his weapons. Once he recovered them, he checked the ammunition stores and saw them to be all good. Then he recovered his Combat Knife, cleaned it a bit and placed it back in the sheath, showing that he was ready to continue with his mission to locating the other HEV and his ship.

With nothing more to do, Saelia signaled her patrol to move forward and to follow their new found guest and possible ally. Although the senior Night Elf Sentinel still held some nagging reservations about the Spartan.

**==O==**

Several hours later…

As the motley band reached the second HEV, the Spartan tapped the code onto the control console to make the HEV fire it's hatch open. The Spartan then told the Night Elves to stand back and avoid being hit. However, having witnessed the whole thing happen before, the warning was not entirely necessary as they stayed a good distance away from the HEV.

After the door was launched out, the Spartan checked the contents of the HEV and found all the supplies and spare weapons that he had stored were all accounted for. He then checked his chronometer and saw that it was three o'clock in the morning. It had been at least several hours since he had finally gotten on the move after treating the wounded and traversing through the forest since the new group actually slowed him down. It was a bit of a problem but the fact that they knew the land helped somewhat as they moved through areas that shaved off more time from his trip and the extra support was helpful.

There had been a few more encounters with several unknown indigenous wildlife. Some of them were naturally hostile and while he had been more than able to hold his own, he had been able to witness the Night Elves in action.

He had to give them credit. Their skills were very useful and their weapons, while primitive by any standard of the UNSC, where highly effective. No doubt their long lives here in this kind of world made them excellent in survival and tracking, and the Spartan wondered just how they would perform in other environments.

Cortana had joked to him that if any of the male personnel back at the UNSC got to see the Night Elf females in action, they would have been more than happy to work alongside them. And despite his professionalism, John couldn't help but agree a bit as he could certainly see the appeal of the women, despite the fact that the Night Elves were technically aliens.

He decided that now was the right time to grab a much needed meal. As much as he wanted to go all the way to the Dawn and check the Frigate's status, he wouldn't be able to do much about it if he lacked the energy to do so. He might be a battle hardened Spartan but he was no god or machine, he needed energy like the next person.

With that in mind, John turned to face Saelia who was still there next him.

"We can rest here for now, grab a meal and when we're done, we'll push on to the Dawn." he informed her.

Saelia nodded and turned to her comrades.

"We will set camp here for now and get some food and rest, let's get a camp site set up as quickly as possible!" she ordered.

"Yes Sister-Captain!" chorused the other Night Elves.

The women got to work gathering nearby firewood while the men began to look for any local game as well as looking for wild fruit and vegetables that would supplement their meal for the day. They also appeared to have carried some supplies for making fire. While some set up the camp, others armed with their bows stood guard to make sure that no one attack them while their companions worked. The Spartan mentally nodded in approval at the cohesiveness of the Night Elf patrol.

"Your group's shows a great deal of discipline." the Chief commented, making his opinion of the group known to Saelia.

Saelia nodded.

"We have to be, our numbers aren't like what they used to be ever since the Battle at Mount Hyjal. We have to make sure that we do our best to survive and avoid losing too many of our people in pointless battles and field accidents. We…lost so many." she replied softly.

From the tone of her voice the Spartan could tell that particular battle was something of a sore topic for the Night Elf and he could understand why. John himself had been in some very serious battles with the worst being…

"_Can't start thinking about that, not now_." he thought solemnly.

"I'll set up my camp here near the HEV." informed the Chief.

The Spartan left the Night Elf looking at his back as he walked away. Saelia sighed to herself and headed off to help out with the setting up of their camp.

The Spartan meanwhile was busy with his own thoughts but as soon as he got to the HEV he started to work on setting up his own camp. Since there was a small stream nearby he quickly rummaged through his supplies to see what he could use to cook with.

He found a Ferro-cerium rod that he could use to make a fire and took that with him. He gathered some dried wood nearby and quickly got enough fuel for a fire and worked his magic with his recovered combat knife and soon got a fire going. The warm fire's heat wasn't felt as his MJOLNIR Mark VI armor was more than able to handle that requirement. But for morale purposes and for boiling the water he'd be using, it was exactly what he needed.

He had several MREs with him and he opened one by pulling the heating tab that triggered the hidden heating weave that was in the tray that held the food there, warming it up and making it ideal for eating. The MRE contained hot mashed potatoes with butter already on it that melted to add more flavor. There was also boiled peas and carrots as well as several slices of well cooked beef with now hot gravy on them. The Spartan quickly took out the specially made spoon and fork as well as the sachets of coffee powder, cream, and sugar.

He then got out a small pot made from metal and poured in the coffee, sugar, and cream and took some cool water from the stream. Cortana had already analyzed the water and found it to be fit for drinking with no danger of any unwanted parasites or bacteria. He then made a quick tripod from several strong metal rods and when that was done, he hung the pot over the fire and got down to eating his meal while occasionally making sure to stir the contents of the pot to make the ingredients for the coffee blend better together.

He already removed his helmet as he started to eat his food. After a while he was beginning to feel much better, one thing that he learned early on in his life as a Spartan was to never underestimate the power of a fresh hot meal. He might never show it but he felt very relieved whenever he was able to have the taste of a hot meal in his mouth and the warmth of it in his stomach.

**==O==**

A few minutes later….

As he ate his meal with military discipline he began to focus on thinking of what his next course of action should be. So far he had been able to get on the side of the Night Elves though he was curious about the ramifications of his siding with them over those Orcs. Most people would have opted not to get involved in the battle at all and would have just let the Night Elves and Orcs fight it out, that way the one how waited it out would be free to move on.

However the Spartan knew next to nothing about this world or its environment. Compiling topographical data was easy to do with the kind of technology he had at his disposal, with Cortana's help of course.

The more difficult information to collect however was the knowledge of the people on the ground. Who were the key players? What were the factions and organizations here? How many other races and cultures were there on this world? Knowledge was power and information was strength.

Needless to say John knew all too well how true those words were since it was only when so many lives were lost in the opening days of the Covenant War that the UNSC was able to know enough to face the enemy. Data from recorder chips recovered from dead, dying, or living UNSC Marines, ODSTs, and Army personnel had provided valuable tactical and strategic insights to give the UNSC a fighting chance against their new enemies. While gathering tissue samples from the bodies of the dead was one thing, gathering intelligence from live beings was another thing entirely with far more benefits.

For these reasons he chose to help the Night Elf Sentinel and her patrol because of several factors they displayed during their fight with the Orcs. The first was because they had not attacked him the very second they saw him, this told him that they were only aggressive when they saw something as a threat to them. And treating something that was unknown to them differently was a good sign. Had they attacked him outright, he would have considered them to be hostile and killed them.

The second was the fact that they were able to speak the human language of English, that meant that they had prior contact with humans and that could be very valuable to him as they would no doubt know more about where he could find other humans in this land.

The third was due to their skills as residents in this land that they called home, they knew their way around the land and would be a great help to him in cutting travel time in half. Plus they would be able to explain to him the various life forms here on this continent which would save him both time and potential headaches if had did it on his own. He didn't want to waste valuable resources in fruitless ventures into an unknown territory after all since it was counterproductive so having assistance from the natives was helpful.

The final reason was that he had a feeling that he could trust them. Not enough to warrant him turning his back to them of course, but enough to tell him that he might be in better company with them until he got everything he needed from them.

Asking the Orcs could have also been useful. But when he saw the way they attacked the Night Elves with absolute blood lust, the Spartan knew that aligning with them was not a viable option. Their knowledge of human language meant that they also had prior contact with humans, but their actions told the Spartan that their relations with humans would no doubt be hostile, and if they knew he was human, he had no doubt they would have tried to kill him.

The savage and suicidal attacks they did also told him that they were fanatics, even when he was slaughtering their group; they didn't break and retreat to recover but rather kept on charging like rabid wolves after a meal. Fanatics were not the type of people one should trust in any way and who knows what have happened if they somehow captured him. The Orcs he fought with also displayed a bloodthirsty nature that made them similar to the Brutes when they went into a berserk rage in battle. This was another good reason why he didn't need to be working with them.

As he finished his meal, he then moved the pot off the fire and poured himself some coffee. Sipping his coffee, he took the time to savor the taste and warmth. It had been so long since he had a proper meal ever since getting back to Earth and fighting all the way to the Ark so he decided to take his time to enjoy it, though his senses were still on alert.

**==O==**

Meanwhile on the other side of the lake, the Night Elves were currently cooking a deer that the Druids were able to hunt down while eating some of the wild fruits and vegetables that were brought in by the others. The patrol also took out several skins of cool spring water that they had with them and they were making sure to have a good meal before they moved onwards with their guest. The fire was made by magic to cook the meat well and the Night Elves were finally able to relax somewhat.

Saelia sat near the fire and was deep in thought about everything that had happened so far this night. One of the Sentinels noticed this then spoke to her commander.

"Sister, are you well?" asked the Sentinel with concern.

Saelia sighed.

"I am unsure sister….I only hope that I am not making a mistake by allowing this Chief to continue to his destination." she replied wistfully.

The others nodded solemnly in agreement. Then one of the Druids spoke.

"While that is true, it seems that his route is taking him away from any of our settlements as well. Wherever his ship may be, it is very far away from any of the villages our people reside in. I have a feeling that if he had any ill will towards us, he would have fought us as well as the Orcs." he pointed out.

One of the Sentinels nodded to that.

"I have never seen such movements before in my life, it was too….fluid and precise, if he truly is human….then he is unlike any human we have come across." she said with a bit of wonder in her voice.

"His armor could be enchanted, that might explain his speed and power." provided another Sentinel.

"I don't believe that is the case sister. Remember, there was nothing to tell us that the armor was indeed enchanted or magically forged, as there had been no magical energy coming from it. Nor did it have runes, magical symbols, or metal that we would recognize as enchanted. And I sensed nothing that would indicate any sort of magic that I have seen from our records that has anything to do with enchanted metal or any inherently magical materials." supplied a second Druid.

"But how could he cause that much injury to a creature as formidable as a Gronn with just a punch and kick? I have never heard of any human being able to do that or from what I read about humans." argued a third Sentinel.

"Perhaps he is indeed a demon and uses an armor that somehow contains and hides his Fel energy?" pondered another Druid.

"Then why did he heal us with those devices he had with him if he is indeed a demon?" retorted the first Druid.

"Perhaps to lure us into lowering our guard, to make us see him as less of an enemy and make him seem more trustworthy to us." countered the third Sentinel.

"Demons of the Burning Legion may be subtle, but not THAT subtle. We have killed so many of their most powerful leaders and officers in the battle of Mount Hyjal that they have lost a much of their elite forces who were excellent at manipulation. Besides, we have no idea what sort of metal could hide Fel energy just yet. And if there was such a material, then the Legion would have been using that for all their forces, though I have my doubts as many of them would much prefer to show themselves in their arrogance to destroying us in the open." explained the first Druid.

Saelia listened to the debates between the members of her patrol group as she ate her own food to satisfy the ache in her own belly which was steadily growing when they skipped dinner and since it was going to be morning soon, they were not going to have breakfast either.

One of the older Druids, who had been listening to the various arguments of his companions, was in deep thought before he finally spoke.

"What we can all agree on is this, he is not what he seems and we must keep our eyes on him and make sure that we have him under surveillance at all times. He might become a valuable ally but he can also become a deadly enemy. We must be very careful of this being until he gets what he wants. Then will shall see what he does next and respond accordingly." reasoned the old Druid with a look from his amber eyes that conveyed deep wisdom.

"Shouldn't we inform High Priestess Tyrande of this? She must know more about this being that has arrived in our lands as she is our people's leader." suggested a younger Sentinel.

"We will indeed sister, but first we must know more about this being before we make a more formal report to the High Priestess."

The discussions carried on for a while until Saelia decided to check on their guest. She got up and headed to where his camp was. When she arrived there, she just witnessed him putting his helmet back on hiding his face to her yet again. Was he really a human underneath that helmet, or a demon hidden in an armored shell to hide his true form?

So many questions were flying through her mind as she looked at the Spartan move up and picked up one of the weapons that he had with him earlier; along with the supplies he had taken from the HEV or whatever it was that he called it. Several weapons were there also so she wondered just how her 'guest' was going to carry them. The Spartan turned once more with the golden face plate that covered it's owner's face greeted her once more and she felt a shiver of unease run through her.

Saelia tried to ignore the unwelcoming sensation, but ever since she saw this being in action she couldn't help but feel that this was a full-fledged and battle hardened warrior before her. Her former mentor, the Ancient of War Valok Hardbark, once told her that sometimes warriors could tell the power and strength of another just by observing and being close to them. She had taken that lesson to heart and it was now that she was beginning to sense that her trainer was right. This being radiated something that tickled her warrior senses and mind. Those feelings were the kind one felt when facing a warrior of greater skill, experience, and power according to her mentor which is something to be treated with respect and not to be underestimated.

"_He is powerful….and dangerous. I've already seen what he is capable of well enough but still, what kind of battles did he take part in to make him this way_?" she pondered lost in her own thoughts.

"Is something wrong?"

Saelia quickly realized that she had been staring at the Chief and without any hesitation she quickly replied.

"Nothing, I came here to check on you and see if you were doing anything suspicious." she said simply keeping her expression neutral.

The Spartan shrugged as he got ready to move out, but stopped and turned back to Saelia.

"I've finished gathering everything I needed from here. So I'm ready to keep moving to my ship if you and your friends are ready." he said.

Saelia looked sharply at the Chief.

"No, my troupe hasn't finished recuperating yet. Be patient, once were fed and rested we will follow you." she said with a tone that brokered no argument.

"Fine."

It grated on the Spartan's nerves somewhat but he kept himself from over reacting and kept in mind that he had to earn the trust of the natives if he was going to make sense of this world that he had landed in.

Though inconvenient was it was, the delay did give him more time to study the Night Elves a bit more. And from what he could see, they were a very tight-knit team. Saelia was giving precise orders and gave respect to her group while maintaining discipline. He could see that her group was willing to continue traveling with her to help keep watch over him. All in all, this was a well-oiled group and no doubt had seen plenty of action together for a very long time, which was something that made him feel more respectful of them.

However, he had to remain objective, aligning blindly with them was not why he was here. He needed information and they had it, so there was no need to fraternize with the Night Elves just yet. The mission always came first while everything else will follow afterwards. He then activated a private COM communications link with Cortana.

"Cortana?"

"Hm? What's up?"

"How far are we from the Dawn in terms of days and travel time?"

"Half a day's walk at best. Hopefully we can avoid any more of those roving beasts and who knows what else. This is turning out to be quite the little field trip."

The Spartan had to agree with her on that as he looked for his weapons and honed all of his combat senses on high alert. The Spartan recalled encountering the local wildlife here. Some he and the Night Elves could avoid while others were just too aggressive and persistent to ignore.

**==O==**

As soon as the camp was broken up, the group moved through the lands with the Spartan moving alongside Saelia. She decided to tell the Chief what he needed to know about the land he was currently in. Apparently this continent that John and Cortana had landed in was called Kalimdor and was home to the Night Elves for the most part as they mostly took up residence in the northern part of the continent to be closer to the forests which were sacred to her people.

They were not the only races who called Kalimdor home however. In the middle of the continent known as Central Kalimdor which, according to Saelia, was a harsh land that had verdant plains, desert lands, savannah, with large and small islands near the coastal areas, as well as marshes and swamps, and was home to the New Horde. It naturally had mountains, hills, and canyons befitting the land and was home to not just the Horde but the Centaurs as well as a few other races.

And to the South were ancient ruins and more besides. Apparently, in the past when the Night Elves had greater power and influence had lived there before the Sundering. John tried to get more information about this for both himself and Cortana, but Saelia was tight lipped about that topic so he decided to save it for another time. All he could gleam about it was that South Kalimdor was now a contested hot zone and was not for the faint of heart. For good reason it seemed as there were very few towns there from either the Horde or the Alliance.

He asked about the Alliance first and it was then that he learned about the time when the Night Elves had first encountered the Alliance and the Horde and how things had changed for them ever since they had first fought both the Alliance and the Horde. And eventually they sided with them to fight the Burning Legion's forces when the Second Invasion occurred.

Saelia then told the Spartan that if he wanted to know more about the events of their history, then he would do better with talking to the scholars, druids, and archivists. She concerned herself with more present matters though she was willing to talk about what she knew from her own experiences.

He did just that and wanted to know more about the Alliance as she knew it. He learned that Alliance had come from another continent called Lordaeron after the Burning Legion attacked it when they summoned the aid of an undead army known as the Scourge. This alliance of humans, dwarves, gnomes, and high elves was led by one Jaina Proudmoore, who was now ruler of a place known as the Theramore Isle. Once they had arrived, they came under assault from their old foes, the Horde, specifically the Warsong Clan of the Orcs.

This told the Spartan that the Orcs were a clan based society and that was a very difficult thing to deal with in his mind. Though they were one race, they were divided into clans and had different customs so communicating with them was going to be a challenge. But he placed that aside and continued to listen to Saelia.

She didn't know what happened that day but apparently the Horde and the Alliance had decided to work together in order to fight the Legion and this was when her kind had conflict before the two sides worked together. A band of Orcs had desecrated their forests for lumber to build their homes which led her people to go to war in anger. And in that same battle with the Orcs, they had taken some form of demonic power and had killed someone of great importance to her people. Supposedly a Demigod named Cenarius, which was why her people developed an intense hatred for the Orcs and hunted them whenever they could.

It seemed that this resentment carried on to this day. Even after the leader of the Horde, an Orc Warchief named Thrall had told them that ones who slew Cenarius were not Orcs but Fel Orcs.

This was enough to tell both John and Cortana just where the racial hatred between the Night Elves and the Orcs came from. They privately talked it over and decided to wait a bit longer and gather more information before making a final judgment on the Orcs and the Horde as a whole.

Saelia then told them about the battle of Mount Hyjal where they finally aligned with both the Alliance and the Horde to strike down the forces of the Burning Legion. Then she told him of how hundreds in the triple alliance had died to buy time for Malfurion to accomplish his goal and what happened by the end of it. Which lead to the current situation in the lands of Kalimdor.

By the end of the conversation, John had decided not to ask about the Horde for now. But then he remembered the group of Orcs that he had killed not too long ago and quickly turned to Saelia.

"Saelia."

Saelia looked at the Chief, curious about what he wanted ask this time.

"Yes Chief?"

"The Orcs that attacked your group… were they apart of the Horde?" asked the Chief. Outwardly he maintained his composure when he asked. Privately though he was very much concerned about the potential implications of what her answer might be.

Saelia shook her head.

"No, if the icon I saw displayed on their armor and skins were of any indication then those Orcs were a part of the Twilight's Hammer clan." stated Saelia.

"And who are they?" asked the Chief.

"I do not know much about them. But from what I have heard, they are more of a cult than an actual clan, since it's followers consists of other races besides the Orcs. All of them joined together by a single sinister belief."

"Which is…?"

"To bring about an apocalypse on all of Azeroth." she replied ominously.

"Charming… they must be a riot at parties." Cortana commented sarcastically to John.

John ignored this as he continued to question Saelia.

"Why?"

"As I said, I don't know much about them. Perhaps if it is allowed, you might learn more about them yourself from our city's archives, but that remains to be seen." answered Saelia, making it clear that she still didn't entirely trust the Chief.

John nodded in understanding. After all, if their positions were reversed he would have done the same. Putting that aside, he was very relieved to hear that he only killed Orcs from a rogue clan rather than from the Horde as that would have probably brought unwanted complications to his already difficult situation. He then asked about the twenty foot one-eyed creature he had killed that was with the Twilight Hammer's Orcs. According to Saelia, the creature was called a Gronn. Apparently they were rarely seen in Azeroth and under the best of circumstances it was generally better to avoid them altogether, as they had the reputation of having a ferocious nature.

Satisfied with the answers he gotten so far, John continued traveling with the Night Elves in relative silence. He wondered what other surprises were in store for him during his stay on this world.

One thing was for certain though, he was going to have to tread lightly and think carefully about what actions he should take in the coming future. If anyone had told him all this before he had landed on this world, he would have labeled that person as a certified lunatic who needed to be treated in a psych ward for the rest of his or her natural life.

But of course, that was no longer an issue given what he had seen.

The group managed to make good time due to the Night Elves' extensive knowledge of the land. Though a few of them in the group pointed out that they were skirting rather close to the borders of Central Kalimdor. So they had to be careful of possible encounters with patrols from the Horde that were in the area. Fortunately they hadn't encountered any and soon set up camp late in the afternoon and were able to eat and rest, once they were done, they would press on until night fall.

On the third day they finally arrived at their destination. The Spartan gave a slight sigh at the sight of the wrecked Forward Unto Dawn that lied on its resting place of sand and rock. It looked like the Forward Unto Dawn was going to be his home away from home for a while on this unknown world and he would not have it any other way as this was the only thing, besides Cortana, left that reminded him of the UNSC.

As he moved along the rocky terrain heading toward the frigate, he had nearly forgotten about the Night Elves that were with him. He turned and saw that they were looking at the frigate with absolute shock written all over their faces.

**==O==**

The Night Elves literally stared open mouthed and wide eyed at the sight of the wreck of the Forward Unto Dawn, they had no idea that the falling object they had seen from before was actually this large ship in front of them. It resembled the air ships that were used by the Alliance and occasionally the Horde. But this massive thing made all those ships look like toys by comparison. It was huge and there was no doubt that they were going to be in for more surprises. Of course they had heard rumors of the Draenei home ship, Exodar, being very large and from what they know of the Draenei is that while the ship before them was not quite as large as the Exodar, it was still of a significant size to be sure.

This patrol had dedicated itself to working in the lands of their people so they had never set foot in the capital city of the Draenei to be entirely certain, but they had heard rumors of the city's beauty and design. This ship on the other hand was a completely different sight all together.

This was more than enough to convince Saelia that the Master Chief was not lying about his faction not being part of the Alliance. If it was, then she would have seen at least ONE such ship like this in her time in the Sentinels so long ago during the Third War.

Saelia managed to catch up with the Spartan who was a fair distance from them and though she couldn't see the being's face underneath the helmet, she had a feeling that he seemed more at ease at the sight of the vessel before them.

"This is your ship?" Saelia asked with a hint of nervousness in her voice.

The Spartan nodded at that.

"Yes, this is the rear section of the Forward Unto Dawn. It was a UNSC frigate that took part in a number of major battles, one of which I was part of as well. I can't say any more than that for now, but I can tell you that the other half of it was lost during transit to this world." he replied.

Saelia became uneasy at the implications of that answer as she looked toward the ship. She was no expert but seeing the melted cut on the ship sent a shiver down her spine. It looked as it some power or another had actually cut the ship with something massive and very hot. She continued examined it a bit more, not that was much of a problem considering the sheer size of the vessel, of which continued to increase as she and the others got closer to it.

"_What in the name of Azeroth could possibly be powerful enough to do this to a vessel of such size_?" she thought with increased worry.

"Just how large was this….Forward Unto Dawn when it was whole?" Saelia asked.

The Spartan saw no harm in telling her the original dimensions of the Dawn and Cortana likewise agreed with that assessment. With the Dawn stuck here they weren't going anywhere any time soon, so there was no reason not to tell the Night Elf leader what the ship once was in the past.

"Before it was cut in half after a battle, the ship was at least one thousand six hundred seven feet at length, with it's width at least five hundred nine feet, and it's height is four hundred fifty seven feet tall." he crisply informed her.

Saelia couldn't help but be in awe as she began to picture the size of this vessel when it was not dissected by whatever it was that reduced it to such a state.

She shook her head in disbelief.

"So this is the most powerful warship in your forces?"

The Spartan slowly turned to her. Even though she couldn't see the Chief's face or read his body language, she swore that somehow she felt that he was somewhat amused by her statement.

After a moment of silence he finally replied.

"No actually, ships of the Frigate Class in the UNSC Navy are considered to be the weakest in terms of fire power, armor, and size. They make up for those weaknesses by being easier to build and can be fielded in larger numbers."

This bit of information stopped Saelia and her patrol dead in their tracks as they looked at the ship with renewed wonder. This ship was by their standards nearly the size of a well-fortified castle with a whole city inside it. The length of it could take in a number of villages into it. While the height was nearly that of a mountain; and this being calls it the weakest type of ship his faction has?

"_If it was true, then how big were their most powerful ships_?" thought Saelia.

They looked at the side and saw the name of the vessel itself. Next to it they spotted an emblem depicting a bird of prey, like a large eagle with his wings fully revealed in all its glory. Gripped in it's talons was a globe of a world and a single white long banner that hanged on the lower half of the globe with the letters UNSC. This further convinced Saelia that the Master Chief was definitely not lying about him not being part of the Alliance.

They finally shook themselves out of their stupor. Gathering their wits they followed the Spartan as he reached an access doorway and began to type in something on some sort of glowing pad. Then what appeared to be nothing but pure metal walls parted to reveal that it was a door. The Night Elves were very much worried about going in there. The idea of entering this fortress of metal did not sit well with them, especially the Druids as it felt unnatural to them. However, they decided to take the risk in order to learn more about this stranger.

**==O==**

As they walked through a massive hallway, the Spartan checked the entire corridor with his assault rifle and sharply scanned every corner with his enhanced eye sight. For now it seemed that no one else besides them was in the ship and the emergency lighting was still operational giving a low level lighting in the area. He then found what he was looking for.

"All right Cortana, you ready?" asked John.

"Yank me Chief, it's time I get access to the ship and see if everything we left behind is still intact." replied Cortana.

There was a slight pause before she spoke again.

"By the way, are you sure about this?"

"We don't have much of an option Cortana, like you said we need their help after all." John pointed out.

"I know, but I'm going tell you now anyway John, this is going to be an interesting day."

The Night Elves watched in curiosity as Spartan walked over to some sort pedestal with a small glowing blue circle in the middle. They stopped when he reached it and then the Spartan reached behind his helmet and removed a small device that was shaped like a small card that glowed. He placed it into a slot on the side of the pedestal and stepped back. A small figure then blinked into existence in the middle of the circle and the Night Elves were suddenly surprised to see what appeared to be a small light blue human female made from light and even more so when it spoke in Common.

"Ahhh…. after a long hike like that this feels nice." sighed Cortana while stretching with a content look on her face.

The Night Elves were looking at the small human female made of pure light that glowed blue; curiosity overcame shock and fear as they came closer to see if what they were seeing is real. As they continued to examine it they saw symbols that none of them recognized moving along the body of the woman of light.

They quickly started when the blue woman of light turned to look at them with a smile.

"Greetings, my name is Cortana."

Saelia managed to stop staring and spoke back in Common.

"I am…"

"I know who you are, you are Saelia Moonstrider of the Sentinels. I watched you and your fellow Night Elves with my Spartan when you were trying to track us a few days ago." interrupted Cortana still smiling at Saelia.

"You were there!?" Saelia asked in surprise.

"Yes, you could say that I reside in the mind of my Spartan as it were. What he sees, I see, what he hears, I hear, we are one, in a manner of speaking. By the way..."

Cortana's body glowed a violet hue, showing that she was somewhat annoyed by something. That and the frown dominating her face was also telling as she glared a bit at the Night Elf.

"I was also there when you pointed an arrow at my Spartan's head. Though your weapon might not have done you much good and while I admire your courage, I was not very amused by what you did _at all_."

While John didn't quite approve of the way Cortana was handling this, he knew Cortana was just a little upset over the previous incident but he trusted her judgment so he didn't interfere. As she continued to glare at Saelia who managed to keep her expression calm and focused despite the death gaze she was receiving.

Cortana then smiled a bit and seemed to relax as she spoke once more.

"At any rate, what's past is past, the here and now is what's most important."

Despite the helmet of his MJOLNIR hiding his features, he had to admit that it felt good to see her face to face again.

"What's the ship's status Cortana?"

Cortana looked around the ship, and Saelia had a feeling that this….being of light saw the ship differently than she and her fellows did. It looked as though she was peeling away the layers of metal around them and seeing what was beyond them.

"_What is this being_?" Saelia wondered.

"She's still mostly intact and surprisingly no worse for wear with all things considered. Everything we locked down is all right were we left them." Cortana finally replied to John in a tone of familiarity.

John nodded in approval at the results. Before they had gone down to the planet's surface after deploying the satellite, they had managed to take full stock of the Dawn's supplies. Back when the Dawn was about to move out with the Separatist Fleet, Commander Miranda Keyes had ordered the Dawn to be loaded down with some serious materials and equipment, in preparation for anything that might have been waiting.

The equipment included a working infantry weapons, armor, and ammunition assembly package. It was a large collection of robotic units that were designed manufacture all known weapons and ammunition used by the UNSC. Designed to replicate the production capabilities of large scale manufacturing plants, this was smaller so it took longer to make weapons, armor, and ammunition. However, it was more portable so it would be invaluable in helping making new weapons and more with what little materials he and Cortana had to work with.

Another bit of equipment they recovered was a number of portable holotanks for more in depth field operations in battle which would be very useful to him and Cortana, once they obtain whatever information they needed. They also found several crates filled with Data Crystal Chips that would allow them increased amounts of storage space for any additional information. These would be valuable to them since they would also serve as sources of data storage for Cortana to use in order to keep her in operational capacity.

There were also crates filled with working UNSC Bubble Shields, they were limited in number but would become very useful when the time came. There were also TR/9 Antipersonnel Mines in the supplies, as well as a number of salvaged Covenant Loyalist equipment such as Regenerators, Power Drains, Flares, Cloaking, Deployable Cover, Portable Gravity Lifts, Radar Jammers, and even some Jackal Shield Gauntlets. And, to the mutual surprise of Cortana and the Chief, there also at least a dozen Forerunner Auto-Turrets and Sentinel Beams of the regular and blue beam variants that appeared to have been salvaged from the Ark. The gear might seem out of place in such a world that was not dominated by technology, but in the minds of Cortana and John, there was nothing stopping them from taking certain advantages in this situation.

Along with those things, they found working components for a hydrogen reactor bank. This would prove very useful as this would relieve the strain of powering the Dawn from the four Deuterium nuclear fusion reactors that served as the Dawn's power source. The trip through the portal and the results of the crash landing had damaged them and it would take time before they were fully repaired so they need to make sure that they don't put too much strain on the reactors.

A number of extra Robot Rovers were also found on the manifest. These machines were loaded into the Dawn for heavy duty operations as they had no idea what they were going to face once they crossed into the portal that lead to the Ark. There were a total of seven of each type, the first were standard Rovers used to carry tons of equipment and supplies, in essence, are cargo lifters. The second were Robotic Dollies, specialized units for medical facilities to move supplies and patients in and out of certain areas when medical personnel were too busy to deal with multiple patients. The last, but certainly not least, were the Service Drones which does heavy maintenance and work.

With Cortana and himself being the only personnel here, having these units intact was like receiving a gift from God. Added to that was a large number of UNSC weapons that were dragged into storage for that mission, even several M99 Stanchion Gauss Rifles which were phased out of service back in the year 2521 which were then brought back in to service during the Covenant War.

Apart from this, there were also a number of stored Covenant weapons such as Carbines, Beam Rifles, Plasma Rifles, Plasma Repeaters, Fuel Rod Guns, Plasma Launchers, Focus Rifles, Concussion Rifles, Needlers, Plasma Pistols, and a good amount of Plasma Grenades and Energy Swords. These were all invaluable weapons of war and would be useful though the Spartan knew better than to use them up since he had no way to recharge them and supplies for the Carbines and Needlers were going to very precious.

The only other significant find on that end was a number of Brute weapons that were onboard as well, namely a number of Spiker Rifles, Brute Plasma Rifles, Brute Shot Grenade Launchers, Mauler pistols, and their trademark Spike Grenades. These had been taken from several battle fields on Earth and Miranda had requested for their use in the Dawn's personnel's arsenal instead of being left to rot. Besides, nothing enraged the Brutes more than being shot and blown apart by their own weapons.

All of this was further supplemented by the fact that Lord Hood had requested at least two crates full of special replacement parts, spare fusion cells, BIOS data cards, testing equipment, and more for the MJOLNIR mark VI armor components straight out of the labs. Even though the Admiral thought that going to the Ark was a mistake, the head of the UNSC burned everything he had on this last gambit and entrusted the Chief with those parts for the final battle. Though he never got to use them at the Ark, John decided to send a silent thanks to Lord Hood anyway.

Needless to say, John was very pleased that none of these things had been lost as they would be critical for his plans here. Now all he had to worry about was how much of this he should tell his potential allies.

"All right then, I think it's time to do what we talked about earlier Cortana, we should tell them." said the Chief with a meaningful gesture as looked to Cortana.

Saelia and her fellow Night Elves were confused by what he said. Cortana however simply smiled at the Chief.

"I think I have enough power for a little show and tell." she replied with hint of mischief.

The Spartan nodded and turned to the assembled Night Elves as the main lights in the frigate finally came online, showing the Night Elves where they were standing in. This was revealed to be a wide hanger bay where a number of still working UNSC vehicles was parked. These vehicles had not been used in the battle since all the UNSC forces had been evacuated when they finally made the last strike at the Ark. That was why there was such a massive surplus of equipment still in the Dawn's inventory when it went through the Portal. He also found out that Lord Hood had more than gone out on limb when the Chief found out that the Admiral had sent a large number of vehicles to aid in the assault.

All of which would soon be put to use at some point in the future, if the Chief had anything to say about it. From what he could tell there were a pair of Albatross Heavy Drop-ships, a half dozen Pelicans, four Hornets, four Hawks, three Banshees, and ,much to his surprise, two Longsword Interceptors for air power. In the ground vehicle department was a pair of MAAT-9 Wolverines, three Spectres, five Brute Choppers, seven Covenant Ghosts, a dozen Mongoose ATVs, ten Gauss Warthogs, ten LAAV Warthogs, and twelve Transport Warthogs.

In the heavy Armor category was at least a half dozen fully upgraded M808B Scorpion MBTs, four Brute Prowlers, five Wraiths, and much to John's own inner delight, was a pair of Grizzly Battle Tanks and a single M-145D Rhino. How Commander Keyes got her hands on even one of these Rhinos was beyond the Master Chief.

The Night Elves were left utterly slack jawed at the sight of these vehicles. Of course they had seen the Alliance use Steam Tanks in the Third War, but these things made the Alliance vehicles look like mere toys by comparison!

"So you wanted to know whether or not the UNSC was here on your world? The answer to that question is simple; we're not from your world. You see, we came from another world entirely. Everything that you see here is but a small part of what the UNSC uses. So I believe that this is enough evidence for you to believe that were not exactly from your neck of the woods." the A.I. informed the Night Elves with a certain amusement at their reactions to her words.

**==O==**

The Night Elves were left to absorb all of that which they have been told and what they were looking at what was sitting there before them. Saelia then knew that this was something that immediately demanded the attention of High Priestess Tryande Whisperwind and the rest of Night Elf people. However the Chief repeated himself to them that he and his companion were not here to invade their world. From what they told the Night Elf party, the two of them had crash landed on Azeroth and only wanted to establish a place to stay and wait for rescue. They had no intention of fighting with or against anyone here on the ship or in the world in general. They just needed information so they had something to work with in order to make the right choices.

That was when the Spartan explained his reasons as to why he aided them when they were attacked by the Orcs and why he had made the offer to Saelia. The Night Elf then replied that they had to report this to their leader at the Night Elf capital of Darnassus. The Spartan asked who their leader was and that was when Saelia told him about Tyrande Whisperwind.

As he and Cortana listened to Saelia speak about the woman who was the High Priestess of the Sisters of Elune, they knew she would the right person to talk to. The fact that she was the leader of the Night Elves further convinced them of the merit of the idea. Hearing about her history, which included her training under this supposed Goddess Elune and with the Demigod Cenarius, her skills in warfare, despite being in a religious office, all the way to the Third War further reinforced the facts to both John and Cortana that she would be the first person they needed to talk to in order to get a much better understanding of the situation in the continent and the world that they crash landed on.

When they asked if they could meet with Tyrande, the Night Elves were very uneasy at the idea. As they all had already seen what he was capable of and the thought of allowing him inside their capital city and before their most beloved leader was not very appealing to them. Especially to Saelia who was more than aware of what the Spartan before her could do and purposefully strode up to the Chief.

"I cannot allow that! To let you roam in my people's homeland is treasonous!" she snapped venomously.

John smirked at that as he was starting to respect this Night Elf a bit more.

"If will it alleviate your concerns I will go with you unarmed while you escort me if that's alright with you." suggested John.

"From what I have witnessed you don't NEED your weapons to do damage, of that I have no doubt." Saelia retorted sharply.

The debate between Spartan and Sentinel lasted for some time until Saelia decided to order one of her fellow Druids to go and speak to Tyrande and see if the High Priestess was willing to consider a meeting with the Spartan. The Druid in question was introduced as Naros Shadecrest. Like his fellow Druids he had glowing amber eyes and wore a light robe while carrying an ornate wooden staff that was decorated with various feathers from native birds. His skin was of a darker shade of violet and had wild unkempt light green hair. After agreeing to deliver Saelia's message, he then turned into a raven and took flight back to Darnassus. In the meantime, since they were still needed to patrol, the senior Sentinel gave orders for her group to go back outside while she remained here to keep an eye on the Spartan.

Naturally her group protested at this but she reminded them that they still had their duties as Sentinels and it needed to be done, the others reluctantly agreed and soon left the Spartan alone with the lead Sentinel.

With Saelia as his guest for the time being, the Spartan decided to at least give the Night Elf some good accommodations here in the ship and guided her to the nearby crew's quarters. When they arrived the Night Elf was left surprised to see the row of bunks there. While the Dawn had a cyro-tube area, it was only used for trips in Slipspace travel, so it wasn't needed. Besides, the Chief and Cortana still didn't know how Saelia's biology would react to the chemicals involve in cryo-stasis so they would let her rest in the crew quarters.

The Sentinel looked around carefully and walked to one of the beds to see if it was fit to sleep on. Which seemed rather clean and the pillows looked nice to her eyes.

She propped her bow and sword next to the bed and sat there, surprised that the bed, despite it's hard appearance, was soft and comfortable. She had never felt a bed as smooth as this before and it showed on her face. That was obvious to the Spartan as he spoke to her while being at the door.

"Is this enough?" asked John while standing at the door's entrance.

"What?" Saelia started, shaken out of her revere.

"Is this room to your liking?"

The Night Elf slowly nodded.

"Good."

As the Spartan left, the door closed leaving Saelia alone for her to rest. She might not admit it, but even she had been hoping for a warm bed to sleep in once she had gotten back to any of the villages after patrolling. But this bed was very nice, one of the best she ever lied on in fact. She then rested her head down on the soft pillow and closed her eyes as sleep finally claimed her.

**==O==**

**Author's Notes: And….that's the end of chapter three. Just so you know, it might be a little while before the next chapter is up. My college assignments are starting to stack up so I need shift my focus to that for the time being. But don't worry I'll have the next chapter posted as soon as I've gotten everything straightened out. So feel free to review and give suggestions about the story in the meantime and I'll see ya later! **


	4. Chapter 3

** Disclaimer: I do not own World of Warcraft or Halo as those were developed by Blizzard Entertainment, Bungie Studios, 343 Industries, and subsidiary companies respectively. I only own the OCs.**

**Author's Notes: To all the readers of my story, I apologize for not updating this story sooner but I had two book reports to write and I had finals to take at college the week before last. Then I had to move out of my dorm and put all of my stuff back at my home Saturday. Plus I had to help my family to prepare for Christmas this last, as if that wasn't enough the internet at my place went down for a couple of days, and then the lights went out so needless to say it was a hectic. But I'm back and this chapter, along with the upcoming ones, will be well worth the wait. Also, I forgot to mention earlier that this story takes place in the midst of the Burning Crusade arc, with some slight alterations of course. **

**And while I'm on the subject, a couple of you stated in your reviews about some confusion about the lack of an eight year time span being mentioned by the Night Elves between the Battle for Mount Hyjal and the Burning Crusade in the last chapter. I had a very good reason for that. While eight years is a long time for humans, let's face it most of us probably don't even remember half the things we did eight years ago, but for the Night Elves who lives for centuries, even without their immortality, eight years isn't that big of a time span for them. But if it makes you feel any better I can assure you that this chapter will reflect the amount of time that has passed.**

**So now just sit back, relax, and enjoy reading this chapter. **

"Talking"

_"Thoughts"_

**==O==**

**Chapter 3**

**First Impressions**

**Day 2; April 12, 2554 **

**Location: ****_Forward Unto Dawn_**

**Local time unknown, early in the morning….**

**==O==**

After he left Saelia to rest in one of the Living Quarters on the Crew Deck, John rested for a few hours himself before waking up shortly before dawn, eating a couple of ration bars, gotten in some basic calisthenics then started to get to work. Being foremost on his list of priorities, the Chief went to one of the Dawn's technical stations to the check up on the status of what was left of the ship's systems to see what he had left to work with, to take stock of the situation that he and Cortana were in while he waited for the Druid Naros to return.

As he worked on one of the consoles he found, to his surprise and relief, that some of the Dawn's weapons systems were still online, along with Gravity Control and Life Support systems. Unsurprisingly the only thing that was offline was the ship's Propulsion system since it took a beating while crash landing. Seeing as how he won't be needing the three latter systems anytime soon, he coordinated with and transferred power to the power grid so he'll have more energy for later use.

As he was finishing up a sudden thought occurred to him.

"Cortana?"

Cortana appeared on one of the workstations looking at the Chief with a curious expression on her face.

"Yes John?"

"How long was I out?" asked John.

"Oh right, after all the excitement I'm not surprised you didn't ask sooner. In answer to your question, it's been exactly one year, three months, and now twelve days." Cortana answered.

"Is the beacon still active?"

"Yeah I routed the signal to transmit via satellite to broaden the range and I kept it from blaring out over the intercom so it wouldn't startle our guests." she explained.

"Good. By the way, have you managed to get the local time yet?"

"I programed the satellite to calculate the time as it orbits so we should have the time by this afternoon."

"And while we're on the subject…" she continued.

Suddenly the Chief found that the layout of his H.U.D. had changed.

"I took the liberty of rewriting your suit's firmware while you were out." Cortana explained.

"You've been busy." John noted.

"Yeah well I had a lot of time to kill."

"I can imagine."

With that John shut off the console and left the room walking toward another section of the ship.

"So what's next?" asked Cortana from the Spartan's comm.

"I'm going to check the Cargo Bay to see if we have anything else we can use."

"Sounds like a plan. But you might wanna hold off on it for now." Cortana advised.

John suddenly stopped.

"Why?"

"Well unless I'm mistaken, one of our resident nature boys is about to return and he's headed toward the Hanger Bay. You should meet him there he might have their leader's answer." she replied.

John nodded and turned to head to the Hanger. When the Chief arrived at the entrance to the Hanger Bay, he heard the rhythmic pattern of bare feet on metal and saw Naros walking out. The night elf turned in the Spartan's direction and noticed John walking toward him so he moved to meet him.

"Master Chief." Naros greeted politely.

"Druid Naros. I assume your back with a message?" John asked while returning the greeting with a nod.

"Indeed, High Priestesses Tryande Whisperwind wishes to speak with you as soon as you are able." he replied.

"Alright, I'll get ready to meet with her. We can leave today as soon as I've finished preparations."

"As you wish. By the way do you know where I might find Saelia? I must inform her of the situation." Naros asked.

"She's resting in one of the Crew Quarters. If you want I can tell her the message while you can stop by the Mess Hall and get something to eat. Cortana can show you the way."

Naros thought about it for a moment before nodding his head in acceptance of the Chief's offer.

"My thanks." replied Naros and with Cortana giving him directions, he left for the Mess Hall.

With that John left and headed down to one of the Crew Quarters where Saelia was.

As he walked to the Crew Deck Cortana suddenly activated the Chief's comms.

"Uh oh!"

"What's wrong?" asked John wondering what had alerted Cortana.

"Sensors indicate that Saelia's vital signs are fluctuating. It's nothing life threating but you might want to check up on her." she informed him.

At that the Chief quickened his pace to see what was bothering the female night elf.

**==O==**

As Saelia slept she dreamt of happier times before the invasion of the Alliance and the Horde into her homeland. She then began to vividly recall the deadly battles that she took part in five years ago when everything had utterly changed for her people. She first remembered taking up arms and fighting in the woods of Ashenvale alongside her kin against the invading Orcs when they had begun to cut down the forest where her people both lived and revered. She remembered the feelings of shock and overwhelming despair at the height of the battle as she witnessed the Orcs slaying Cenarius. Then of how she and her people were forced to leave their home after the beloved Demigod had been slain.

The dream then changed to the moment when her people had fiercely fought the Orcs in a past skirmish that was bloody for both sides. It then shifted to the Battle for Mount Hyjal where her people fought alongside the Alliance and the Horde against the Burning Legion and their dark leader Archimonde which ended in victory. Then everything became dark and the dream changed once more.

She now found herself standing in the comforting environment of a familiar forest in Kalimdor. But something about it seemed…. wrong. The sky was dark, the forest was silent as a grave, and not even a single leaf in the trees was stirring. It was as though the wind itself had suddenly ceased to be. Saelia then searched for what could have caused such an unnatural gloom to befall the forest, it did not take too long for her to found out. As she looked to the sky her eyes widened with shock as she saw a floating tower with its height reaching past the clouds and seemingly towards the sky itself. Her shock then became awe as she further examined the tower and found that it was made entirely out of exquisitely crafted and streamlined sliver-hued metal that seemed to shimmer and glow with the sunlight. And to her further bewilderment she saw that not only was the tower floating but several various sized pieces of the tower itself where floating not too far apart from it.

As Saelia continued to stare at the tower in wonder she then froze as she heard an unnatural metallic sound behind her and turned slowly until she came face-to-face with a creature she had never seen before in her long life. The head of the creature, which was mere inches away from her face, was smooth and angular and was adorned with an armored helm that, which appeared to be made of the same metal as the tower, left only its face visible. The creature's face, which was also made of metal to the further shock and surprise of Saelia, was dark gray with glowing blue eyes, grimacing jaws that held rows of teeth, no nose, and like its eyes, a blue fire-like glow emanated from behind it's head giving it an otherworldly appearance that enhanced the feral nature of its eerie visage.

Saelia could only stare in mute wariness at the creature before her with it staring right back at her. Then her wariness turned to dread as the creature's eyes and the light behind its head changed from an icy blue to a burning orange. She tried to back away from the creature to move into a defensive stance but found to her horror that she couldn't move and began to feel an emotion that the Sentinel had rarely felt toward any previous foe…. fear. Her heart began to race as the creature leaned its head closer to her own. She felt herself thrash, struggling to move only to find to her growing terror that she remained rooted right where she stood. Without warning the "face" of the creature split apart, leaving Saelia looking on in horror at the fiery skull that roared at her.

Saelia's eyes snapped wide open and she shot straight up and swung her arm out of the instinct to retaliate against the creature…only to have her arm caught and held in a tight but gentle non-threatening grip.

The Sentinel's vision cleared and was shocked to find her arm in the grip of the Spartan who to her surprise was still in full armor and helmet. She found herself siting on the bed she had been sleeping in before and no longer saw the creature from her dream.

"You all right?" the Chief asked with a hint of concern.

"W-What happened?" Saelia asked creakingly while slightly shaking her head to clear her mind of any lingering disorientation.

That was then Cortana's voice spoke over the intercom.

"I picked up sudden changes in your body temperature and your movements. That told me you were having a dream, or rather a nightmare, so I sent the big guy here to check on you. But it seems your awake now. How are you?"

Saelia quickly realized that and flushed with embarrassment at her actions.

"I-I am well thank you. And I apologize for nearly attacking you Master Chief."

The Spartan gave a slight shrug and released her arm from his grip.

"It's nothing. By the way, the Druid that you sent to your homeland came back." he informed her.

"Naros has returned?"

"Yes, while you were sleeping. He said that your High Priestess was willing to meet with, Cortana and I are ready to leave if you and group are."

Saelia stared at the Chief for a moment then nodded her head.

"Very well, give me a moment to ready myself and I will consult with Naros then gather the others so that we may leave for Darnassus."

The Chief nodded.

"Understood. Naros is waiting for you in the Mess Hall and if you like something to eat you can grab some there while the two of you talk. Cortana can show you the way. When you're ready I'll be waiting in the hanger that I showed you earlier."

She nodded her head in understanding and thanked him. With that John stood and walked out, giving Saelia the room to herself.

Saelia sighed and started to get out of bed when she felt something wet sliding down her forehead. She quickly brought her hand to her forehead and found that she had been sweating while she was asleep which reminded her of the tower and the creature she saw in her dream.

"_What were those things? I have never before seen nor heard of the likes of that tower or that creature. And why do I feel a sense of fear and foreboding when I saw them."_ she thought worryingly.

She immediately dismissed these thoughts. Now was not the time for her to ponder on the meaning of some dream. She had more pressing issues to deal with.

With that Saelia got of bed and retrieved her weapons and sack from where she laid them. Once she made sure she had everything and that she was decent, she left the room with Cortana giving her directions to where the Chief called the "Mess Hall" to speak with Naros.

**==O==**

John was currently field checking one of the Pelican transports that he was prepping for use in the Dawn's Hanger Bay with a nearby tool kit as well as diagnostic pad to keep himself busy for now until it was time to take his leave of the Dawn for the trip to the Night Elves homeland of Teldrassil and to Darnassus which was apparently the capital of the Night Elves. Since he was, according to the Night Elves and satellite imagery, within Central Kalimdor and a few miles south of the border of North Kalimdor, he needed to make sure that he was not going to be seen as an invader to these people being in an area where, by his estimation, the Night Elves had jurisdiction.

This upcoming meeting was going to be very critical to his time here on this part of the world since the last thing he needed right now was winding up angering the locals and getting attacked. He had decided to carry weapons for now, namely an Assault Rifle on his back, a SMG and a M6D pistol on his thighs complete with all of the ammunition magazines he might need. Naturally he would have the guns safeties on once he was there though he was still trying to sort all the details down.

Though as he worked on the Pelican his mind had been busy thinking about what he had seen for the past two days since he landed on this world.

He was familiar with the term magic of course, but that was only because of the studies in history he had back on Reach which highlighted the superstitious beliefs of ancient cultures of Humanity's history when it was starting out. Magic, Gods, Demons, Spirits, all of that was used by early humans on Earth to explain many things that they had no idea about, and had been the driving factors in the development of various societies on Earth. From the belief of ancestor worship, human sacrifice, all the way to praying to a God or various Gods for good weather, blessing marriages and the like.

He was also familiar with the terms given to those who were rumored to wield magical or divine powers. They were many, from druids, shamans, prophets, sages, prophetess, priests, priestesses, mages, necromancers, witch doctors, soothsayers, faith healers, witches, warlocks and more besides. And he had heard of things like magical charms and as well as supposedly enchanted weapons such as Excalibur and many others including the supposed creatures of myth and legend.

Of course, most of those things were soon disproved by the ever growing knowledge of mankind, and eventually the only things that remained that had any resemblance of magic were magic shows which were usually done with what most of the people called 'smoke and mirrors' effects. Though there had been cases of individuals with unique abilities but they were rare as most were proven to frauds. Magic was also seen in games, movies, or portrayed in fictional books in the UNSC. As for the concepts of spirits, monsters, undead, and demons, they too were somewhat disproved by the advances of science and technology.

As for religion the UNSC had one standing rule with religion and that rule was simple: "As long as one does not start a war over religion, or commit crimes against those of other religions, they are free to follow their beliefs." This naturally meant that as long as nothing criminal or destructive was done to others in the name of that faith, any member of the UNSC can be of any religion. This was why there were so many people of various faiths in the UNSC, along with those who didn't believe in religion.

Humanity's history was filled with wars fought over religion, the more commonly known being the Crusades started by Christianity, the Jihad of Islam, along with many other conflicts where religion played a role. Though in many cases those wars were started by corrupt priests or leaders who used their own religion as an excuse to take what belonged to another. But ever since the first trip beyond the solar system and the eventual settlement of other worlds that were proven to be habitable for human beings, the idea of starting conflict over extreme interpretation of religion was considered to be a waste of life, time, resources, and ultimately pointless.

This fact was driven home when the Covenant came and attacked the UNSC unprovoked and without cause due to their belief that the Human race were perversions to their Gods. The Covenant believed in the lies of the Prophets so much that they cared little on who they killed, man, woman, child, young, old, civilian, or military, in their eyes they all had to die. That was more than enough to unite all the UNSC regardless of religion and the Chief got to see first-hand just how violent a war with corrupted religious beliefs being the cause could be.

As for him personally, the Chief wasn't very religious himself. In fact, nearly all of his fellow Spartans had no religious beliefs to speak of, though they did use some variant forms of meditation to relax their bodies and minds when they were on a mission or when they just needed to unwind before taking a mission. His long-time friend Linda was known to use Zen Buddhism techniques to clear her mind when taking shots with her sniper rifle and she did it in such a way that she made sniping into a form of art.

They studied religion for the effects it had on a civilization, the development of social and moral standards of behavior they outlined, perceptions of other cultures, development of society as a whole. They didn't study religion to get a faith, they studied it for it's more practical effects. As for magic, it was more of a curiosity than an actual subject for them to learn.

And now here he was in a world where magic was the norm and quite possibly everything he had thought to be only the workings of the ages past now existed before his eyes. After seeing real elves, Orcs, and that Gronn in the flesh, the Spartan knew that his time here on this world was going to be far from dull.

As he placed the kit down, Cortana spoke to him as she worked in the nearby holotank running through several more files.

"John, you all right?"

The Chief turned his head to the where she was "standing".

"Why do you ask?"

"I picked up some spikes in your brain waves, as if you were deep in thought. Is something bothering you?" she asked curiously.

John rolled his eyes and replied.

"You tell me, we just landed on a world where magic is not some illusion or work of fiction. And I'm willing to bet that everything that is supposed to be the work of superstition and folklore actually exists here on this planet. If it wasn't for the fact that I saw it all with my own eyes, I'd say that I was losing my mind."

Cortana laughed gently at that.

"I see your point there. On that note I've been busy doing more research on what we've seen so far and I have to say, this is really amazing. The fact that this "magic" stuff is actually real here might explain why there were so many energy readings when I scanned the planet while we were still in space. There were so many variants of energy with subtle and obvious differences from one another. I picked up the same thing from both those groups before."

"You mean from the Druids and the Warlocks?"

Cortana nodded and showed the images once more, only this time the Night Elf Druids and the Twilight Orc Warlocks were the focus and Cortana changed the images to more of a wire frame design of the two groups. That was when the Chief saw the energy waves that seemed to come from the two groups. On the Night Elves, the energy seemed to be deep forest green mixed with flecks of blue and slight yellow, as for the Warlocks, their energy signature was black mixed with deep blood red and sickly dark green. On both groups were a number of data graphs and calculations as well.

"What am I looking at Cortana?" the Chief asked eventually.

"Apart from the obvious color difference, you can see that that their energy signatures have different ratings and numbers. This means that they are using not one type of energy, but two different ones. This would indicate that if there is magic in this world that's not the kind one associates with shows and stages, then it's one of different varieties as well. This can help us at least identify not only the kinds of energy but what kind of person uses this magic." Cortana explained.

The Spartan thought it over for a moment and agreed that this was prudent as there was no telling what else they would soon encounter in this world. Just because they had encountered the Druids and Warlocks and saw magic from them didn't mean that they were the only users of magic. Who knew what other beings and races they would encounter that could use magic? This knowledge would also prove useful if they would have to fight someone using magic as this would allow them to single them out more effectively in battle.

"Cortana, can you modify the MJOLNIR's scanner systems to identify anyone using magic from a large room?" John asked.

"That's fairly easy to do since they are the only ones who can tap into it, though I will need to run scans on them to further identify the type of magic they use. I think we can also identify them just as easily by the way they dress themselves. Did you noticed the way those Druids and Warlocks dressed? They wore little to no armor, no doubt they needed to have free movement in order to use their magic more effectively, though the Druids wore leather armor from the way they were dressed. Not to mention the fact that they were always at the back. I think casting that stuff takes time to use, that might give us the chance to single them out and neutralize them if we have to fight them."

John nodded at that, it was generally a rule that those who could fire at a distance would be placed at the rear of a formation. Archers in ancient times would often do that, and later siege weapons were always placed in the rear to both strike an enemy at a distance and to keep out of range from any retaliatory strikes from said enemy. And even when gunpowder was used and the first guns were built, that rule remained until the evolution of warfare where soldiers with guns now used cover to avoid counter attacks and the advent of more powerful cannons. Since this world's technological level seems to be at a medieval stage of development, it would make sense that magic would be used to support troop advances and also to attack powerful targets before staging a frontal assault. Thus it would stand to reason that killing magic users would deprive the enemy of any useful support and leave them with a significant setback in their overall tactical advantage.

When Cortana finished updating the scanners of his helmet he heard the sound of footsteps approaching and looked to see Saelia finally arriving in the Hanger with the Druid Naros. The two were still in deep discussion and from what he could hear with his MJOLNIR's audio scanners, they were conversing in Darnassian, which told him that whatever they were discussing was something that they wanted to keep hidden from him, though he assumed that it had something to do with him. This was enough to make the Spartan wary but not totally worried for now. However it would have been easier if he was able to at least figure out what they were saying.

"I have been using my translation software to try and crack their native language, that way we can at least figure what they're saying. Though I'm still going to need a much larger sample size of their languages before I can complete the translation program and wire it into your brain." Cortana said suddenly as if knowing what John had been thinking.

"A trip to their capital city would do the trick I suppose?" he asked with rare humor.

The A.I. chuckled at that.

"Got in one. Besides, if we can get access to their archives and libraries, it would help give me the heads up on their alphabet, various customs, history, dialects, and organizations. You should also take a look at some of their maps so I can update the ones from I got from the satellite. It would help if we had some identifiable landmarks with the updated map so we'll have a better idea of the layout of wherever we are at any given moment. Though I don't think we'll have any trouble getting this kind of information, at least from the Night Elves. There's no telling about how the other member races of the Alliance or the Horde will react though. But if we can crack their languages too then we'll at least be ready for anything or anyone else that might be lurking about. It might come in handy if we need to do the Trojan horse trick in the near future."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

"You never know Chief. At any rate, we should get ready for the trip to Darnassus. I haven't gotten an exact idea where it's located, but I can bet that traveling there might take a while." Cortana replied while shrugging her shoulders.

The Spartan however had one last concern. If they were going to go to Darnassus, they would be leaving the Dawn undefended. Although he knew that without the codes to unlock the security doors and blast doors, this ship would be all right. But there was still the fact that there were creatures here that could really become a serious problem. If the Gronn he had fought with before was of any indication if there were large creatures like that, then there was bound to be a chance that there were other creatures that could be much larger, stronger, and more powerful roaming around out there.

Not to mention the fact that he knew that even the most secure defenses can be broken and bypassed. He should know, as he had broken into bases of the Insurrectionists more than once, along with a few Covenant bases and ships during the war. He recalled the time he and his team, had tried to break into the base of an Insurrectionist General named Howard Graves, the base had defenses and security measures that were impressive even by their standards and it took a lot of effort to break in. When they did they fell into a trap and had been captured until Kurt freed them from said trap.

"Cortana, we might have another problem. If we leave the Dawn, how can we keep it secure just in case some other beings on this planet decide to get curious about it? I know the security doors are the only way in to the more critical areas, but considering what the Dawn went through, what's to stop the ship from being infiltrated?"

The A.I. was silent for a moment and replied.

"I can use a copy of myself with advanced security protocols to keep an eye on the ship. If anything happens my duplicate can easily contact us by accessing the satellite we have upstairs and locate us for communications. It shouldn't be a problem since we're taking a Pelican but we might have some issues with that too."

"How so?"

"Well, considering that we don't know the exact layout of the Night Elves' capital city for one. What would happen if we try to land and suddenly wind up in a residential area or their market place? That's not going to make a good impression on the natives you know, not to mention the fact that we could cause some collateral damage in the process. Even more so if we accidentally land into places which the Night Elves might consider sacred to their people and that would REALLY get us into hot water."

The Spartan nodded at that and decided ask Saelia and Naros about that after the two night elves were done talking.

**==O==**

"Lady Tyrande wishes to know more of this Master Chief?" Saelia asked in a low voice, keeping an eye on the Spartan as she and Naros entered the Hanger.

Naros nodded to Saelia, he had recounted his arrival to Darnassus to her while they were eating, the tasteless yet edible rations, in the Mess Hall where they had spent most of the time talking about it. Apparently he had arrived at the Temple of Elune just as Archdruid Fandral and High Priestess Tyrande were in the middle of another serious and heated debate. Tyrande had to work hard to keep her composure while Fandral had been busy releasing his latest attempt to annoy and test the patience of the High Priestess. The discussion had been very much the same as just about every other discussion they had in the past. With Fandral insisting that the Night Elves should cut their ties with the Alliance and strike out on their own terms as a race and not rely in the Alliance for anything else that they could very well accomplish on their own.

Tyrande, with a great deal of patience on her part, had managed to deal with that and while Fandral's latest speech had been defused, there was no doubt that the situation between her and Fandral was becoming more heated in recent times. Add that to the daily duties ensuring her race's survival as well as maintaining a good relationship with the other members of the Alliance that they were currently part of, then it was going to become even more serious. After the archdruid had left Naros then finally gave his report to Lady Tyrande. Despite the fact that he was a druid, for some reason, that even he couldn't explain, Naros had found himself becoming wary of the archdruid as of late and held some level of distrust for Fandral.

Once he was finished with his report of the events that had transpired only a day before when he and his superior Saelia had been on patrol, Tyrande asked him to wait while she deliberated her decisions on this new discovery. It was hours later that she decided that it would be better that the owner of that ship….this Master Chief come to the capital city as soon as possible as there would be a meeting of several ambassadors from the other members of the Alliance at a much later date.

The reason was simple, she wanted to make sure that the Chief was under the watch of the Night Elves since technically he was in their lands and as such was under their jurisdiction. Tyrande's reasoning was a sound one, with the Alliance members currently dealing with various duties at this time, the last thing she wanted was for them to start causing more trouble for her people over the Dawn and the Spartan. After being told of the technology the Chief possessed and what Naros had revealed through magic, she knew that it was far better that she ascertain the exact reason why he was here on their world and in their lands.

It also was to determine if he was indeed sincere that he was not here to cause damage to their still recovering lands and would not use the technology for less than sincere use. The very thought of what such weapons could do to her people as well as her enemies was a great concern for Tyrande which was why she asked for the Spartan to be brought to the city as soon as it was possible.

Saelia shook her head at this and sighed. She understood the reasons of Lady Tyrande's decision to have the Spartan brought to their capital city. But that certainly didn't mean that she was not opposed in some fashion to the idea either.

"Are you certain that this is what Lady Tyrande wants?" she asked reluctantly.

"I am certain, there is no doubt that she wishes to meet the Spartan herself."

Saelia pondered on the idea of it, she knew it would take at least three weeks at best to make it to the city of Auberdine on foot where they could take a boat to the village of Rut'theran, or they could go by the shorter way of Astranaar and ride via hippogryph to Auberdine. However, with the area routinely raided not just by Satyrs but rogue forces from the Horde as well, might make that particular route unwise to travel. Though she had no doubt that the Chief would easily slaughter any enemy they might encounter before him, she was not very favorable to the idea of him unleashing whatever weapons he had before the eyes of the people of that village.

That was when the Spartan approached and spoke to them.

"I just need to get a few more things together before we go, how long will it take to get to your people's capital city?"

Naros told the Spartan what he knew and the Spartan shook his head, showing that he didn't like the idea to say the least. What he said next made it very obvious to the two night elves.

"Both of those routes will take too long and I will not leave the Dawn unprotected the way it is. Before we go, I'll need to give some extra security to the Dawn. And I already have an answer on how to get to this city of yours, all I need is for someone to point to where it is."

Saelia raised an eye brow at that.

"How do you plan to go to Darnassus if you don't take the routes we have shown you?" she asked curiously, wondering what the Spartan had in mind.

"We fly of course, how else do we get there in the fastest possible time?"

Naros was surprised at the Chief's answer and tried not let his amusement show on his face.

"….I do not mean any disrespect when say this but, if you are suggesting that myself and the other Druids carry the rest of you while in storm crow form, then I am afraid we won't be going anywhere."

The Spartan seemed amused by that, though neither Saelia nor Naros could tell for sure. Then they saw the Chief point to one of the flying machines.

"We'll be flying in one of the Pelicans actually." he said dryly though his voice clearly had an amused undertone to it.

Saelia and Jarrod look wide eyed at the Pelican that the Spartan was pointing at.

"I will not set foot in something like that." Saelia immediately replied, not at all thrilled at the idea of being in one of those things.

"Then I am not going, I won't leave this ship without securing it completely so you will have to get used to the idea. Besides, the sooner I can meet your leader, the quicker I can get back to doing what I can to make sure that no one gets the bright idea of attacking this ship while I am away." he retorted.

Seeing that she had no other options at the moment and knowing how serious her people's leader was, Saelia agreed. The Spartan then left and started to install some security for the Dawn while Saelia and Naros left to gather the other night elves.

While they were away, the Chief took out one of the Mongoose ATVs along with a number of advanced sensor units. He guided the vehicle out and with a sound that was a combination of roar and whine, the Spartan quickly began to set up a perimeter around the Dawn.

The sensor packages were using a variety of systems to detect anything that could pose as a threat to any location. Such features included a number of vision modules such as thermal, UV, Night Vision, and 3D. The next were audio and seismic sensors, as well as advanced motion sensors. The Spartan made sure to have them as a series of overlapping circles. It took some time but as soon as he was done with that, he high tailed it back to the Dawn and arrived to Hanger and slid Cortana out of the holo-tank and slid her chip into the back of his helmet as she finished her work in securing the Dawn as well as creating the new vision mode for the MJOLNIR Mark VI that might prove useful in the long run.

With that done, he looked to see that all the night elves had finally gathered for departure, though more than one of them looked very nervous. No doubt Saelia and Naros had already told them the particular means of travel they would be using to get to their city. When he was sure that they were all there, he guided them into the chosen Pelican and began to activate the core systems to bring the Drop-ship to full operational status. Once that was done, he hit the accelerator as Cortana's clone opened the doors before them and the Pelican rushed into the sky. With directions from Naros and data from the orbiting satellite, Cortana showed the Chief the location of their destination on a holographic map.

Saelia had to admit that the sight of the land moving below her before the door of the Pelican's troop bay closed was a bit shocking and yet slightly invigorating at the same time, the feeling of being inside this…Pelican was unlike anything she had ever felt before. She had never rode on any other form of flight transportation except by hippogryph, to think that she was actually flying in something unnatural like this was….unsettling.

**==O==**

**Four hours later….**

As they approached the island where Darnassus was supposed to be Cortana appeared on a nearby holotank and showed the island on the palm of her hand as she spoke to the Spartan, they were moving through cloud cover so they weren't able to see the island just yet.

"We're nearing the island, but according to the satellite feed the only thing down there is one small village and a large mass that it's still trying to identify. Are you sure your capital city is on this island?" Cortana asked the two Night Elves standing near the Chief.

Both Saelia and Naros nodded in confirmation but didn't comment. Just as the Chief guided the Pelican down Cortana finally received information from the satellite regarding the unidentified mass and much to her surprise the mass in question was organic, a tree of all things as it was revealed on the holo-display.

"What…is…that?" Cortana finally asked as she looked at it.

"That is the new World Tree Teldrassil, and it is there where our capital city Darnassus is located." replied Naros with pride evident in his voice.

The Spartan and the A.I. looked and soon saw the World Tree itself coming into view. Created by Archdruid Fandral and a number of fellow Druids of The Cenarion Circle, the new World Tree was the new center of the Night Elf civilization and was an example of the power of the Night Elves when it came to nature itself. It was the bastion of life for the people of Saelia and her party, but it also had a dark side to it, but neither Night Elf would reveal it. Saelia would not because she had no idea on the matter, and Naros would not, due to the fact that he knew that the Tree was not fully embraced by all beings of nature or even by nature itself.

Cortana looked at the massive World Tree known as Teldrassil and whistled as the Pelican flew towards the island. John himself was very much surprised by the sheer height, size, and scale of the whole thing before him. This tree would dwarf just about anything that he had seen on a planet's surface, only the Space Elevators used by the UNSC in many of their major cities and colonies were the only ones that came close to this.

Cortana couldn't help but comment on that.

"That tree is as big as a Space Elevator and just as high, though not by much…what EXACTLY did you feed that thing to make it that tall and wide?" she asked with awe.

Saelia and Naros were confused by this but the druid was the one to ask.

"I'm sorry, but what is a…Space Elevator?"

Cortana gave them a brief rundown of the specifics while the Chief continued to pilot the Pelican in scilence while looking at the tree. The Space Elevator was a colossal structure used by the UNSC to ferry supplies and materials from the planet to a platform in space for transport off world. Compared to the Gravity Lift system used by the Covenant, the Space Elevator was crude and fairly basic in design, but to the UNSC and Humanity, the Space Elevators were the cornerstone of transporting supplies and materials from world to world. The first Space Elevator used on Earth was the New Mombasa Orbital Elevator built in the early days of the 24th Century and that cemented New Mombasa's importance as an economic and strategic asset for the UNSC and Earth. Ever since then the use of Space Elevators was key to the growth of the UNSC in it's early days. They were well built for damage and usually had artificial islands to serve as the base and the area where cargo carriers were stationed for distribution to the surface of their loads.

Many such elevators were lost in the war with the Covenant and the Flood so it was somewhat amazing to see something like this tree that came close to being a Space Elevator in it's own right.

The Spartan turned a bit to see the two night elves being shown a picture of one such Elevator while Cortana explained the importance of them to the UNSC. When it was done the night elves, both standing in the doorway and sitting in the passengers' seats, were looking at the A.I. with amazement. Naros was the first to recover.

"You…were able to create something that went beyond the very sky? How!? How is that possible without magic and the guidance of nature!?" he asked shockingly, shocked and in awed that such a thing was possible.

"What do you mean by that?" Cortana asked with a confused expression on her face.

Naros gulped a bit and replied.

"Teldrassil was created by the current head of The Cenarion Circle, Archdruid Fandral Staghelm and a number of other Druids were able to use their magic to create Teldrassil to serve as our capital city and new home as well."

"You're saying that this leviathan sized tree your people call home was made through magic!?"

"Yes."

The Spartan was stunned by the implications of such a statement, to think that magic was powerful enough to make a tree grow to the size of a Space Elevator. It was for the lack of a better word, unnerving, not a good feeling for anyone even more so for a Spartan. He activated the special vision mode that Cortana developed, which would allow him to see the energy aura of anything that might have magic, or anyone who could use magic.

What he saw was enough to make him feel even more unnerved. The ENTIRE tree radiated magic, right down from the end of the roots to the leaves. He had to tune down the vision mode's parameters in order to avoid being blinded by the energy he was seeing from the tree itself and when he could see it more clearly, he couldn't help but be impressed.

Cortana likewise was impressed as she had calibrated the Pelican's scanners to allow her to look at the tree differently. Once she was done scanning the tree carefully and recording all that she had seen and evaluated, she then turned to the night elves.

"I gotta say, I'm impressed, your people have some serious talents with magic." She complemented to the Night Elves.

Naros's cheeks turned slightly more dark purple, showing that he was actually blushing. Somehow the praise from an unusual being like Cortana made the young night elf druid of the Cenarion Circle a bit embarrassed. Though the fact that he was being praised by someone who looked like a nearly nude human female might have had a lot to do with that embarrassment. Saelia noticed this and gently elbowed her subordinate and he looked at his superior with a look of apology.

The night elf Sentinel gave a discreet look at the Spartan. His companion that he referred to as an… A.I., whatever that meant, this mechanical flying machine that they were in, along with the image of what they had called the Space Elevator. Her mind was running at such revelations, to think that Humans from this….UNSC could actually create such a thing without magic. The Humans in the Alliance were very capable in many things and even in the field of technology, though they relied heavily on the aid of the Dwarves of Ironforge and the Gnomes to develop technology.

But these humans of the UNSC, their inventions surpassed just about anything and everything the Alliance could ever have conceived in their lifetimes to her eyes. The weapons she had seen the Spartan carry, and the vehicles as well terrified her, they made anything the Dwarves and Gnomes made look like toys and that further added to the fear she had which was very thick. While her people were not totally abhorrent to the use of technology, they had limited its use to military and forging purposes. As most of her kind simply didn't see technology as necessary since magic and nature provided them with everything they might require while some of the more radical Night Elves viewed technology as an inherently destructive force and a sin to nature.

She had no trouble imaging what the effects of the weapons that the Chief processed would have on her people if the Spartan ever turned on them. But she recalled how the Spartan had healed her comrades as well, she had talked with them before they left the ship and had found that their wounds had fully healed and they had recovered swiftly afterwards. This told her that the technology he had was not solely restricted to war, but she was still not willing to give him the benefit of the doubt just yet. She silently prayed to Elune that she was doing the right thing by allowing this being into their home.

**==O==**

As the Pelican moved closer to the area, Naros directed him to the location of the village known as Rut'theran. The Spartan guided the machine down to the outskirts and landed on a small open area. Just as Naros, Saelia, and their companions left the now open deployment bay, they were greeted by the arrival of night elves who resided in the outpost village and they were happy to see their kin return safely.

Saelia was soon greeted by the sight of an old friend, a female night elf Huntress named Kiruna Leafgale. Unlike Saelia's own light purple skin, Kiruna's own skin was of a bright violet-pink hue with a silver facial tattoo across her forehead and had her blue shoulder length hair draped over her left shoulder. She was dressed in her usual mail armor that she had learned to use many years before and she had a one-handed sword and a dagger on either side her hips, as well as her trademark longbow at her back. Sitting beside was a large purple nightsaber that Saelis knew was Shalla'tor.

When Kiruna saw her she quickly approached Saelia.

"It's good to see you again Saelia." she greeted warmly with a smile.

"You as well Kiruna, though I wasn't expecting you to be back home so soon after you received that last mission." Saelia said while returning Kiruna's smile with one of her own.

Kiruna chuckled and replied.

"As it turned out my mission didn't take nearly as long as I thought, but I am also in need of some fresh supplies. And besides, I was planning to see if there were some new tasks here in Darnassus that might need someone of my skills. But more importantly…what in the name of Elune is that thing?" she suddenly asked with a serious expression on her face.

Saelia turned to where her friend was looking toward and knew that she was referring to the 'Pelican' that she, Naros, and the others from her party had arrived on. And she was not the only one as other night elves, young and old, male and female looked at the large vessel with both curiosity and trepidation. The night elf Sentinel tried to think of the right words to explain to her longtime friend what the machine was, but she had no idea on where to even start.

But that was placed aside as the night elves were quick to recoil and some cried out in shock and surprise when they spotted a behemoth in green and black armor with a golden plate on it's face. The thing emerged from the back of the massive machine that came from the sky and began to look at the gathering masses.

**==O==**

Cortana, who was now in the MJOLNIR Mark VI smirked a bit and spoke to her long time protector.

"You've drawn quite the crowd." she commented with amusement.

The Spartan rolled his eyes at that and decided to lock down the Pelican, unmindful of the way the rest of the night elf villagers were looking at him. The Spartan knew that this was not going to be easy but no matter what happened he was not going to let one strand of UNSC technology fall in the hands of any native on this world. Cortana then held a private conversation with him while he was locking down the Pelican.

"By the way Chief, did you notice something about that massive tree's energy readings?"

The Spartan nodded, it had taken some re-calibrating but he had indeed seen a good amount of sickly green energy mingling with the tree's other energies, similar to the same kind of sickly green that he had seen from the warlocks, only in this case, it was even thicker and stronger than before. That was not surprising given the sheer size of this Teldrassil, yet the fact that the tree was emitting energy that was used by warlocks was troubling to the pair.

"Yeah, that definitely demands an explanation, but even if we brought it up I doubt we would get any information regarding that for the moment. The best thing we can do for now is to talk to their leader Tyrande Whisperwind and make sure our first meeting with them goes smoothly. Let's get the Pelican locked down and get a move on." the Chief resolved.

"Alright then, lead the way big guy." said Cortana with a chuckle.

**==O==**

Kiruna was surprised at the massive form that had just appeared out of the flying machine. Unlike many of her other kin, she had traveled far and wide so she was very familiar with the other things that existed in the world that they were part of. Her time as a Sentinel herself during the Third War made her realize the wideness of the world. This was why after the Third War she became a Huntress and traveled the lands after retiring from the Sentinels. Being a Huntress for many years she had been to the continent of Azeroth and had even skirted near Lordaeron on a few occasions and had even managed to travel into the land of the Dwarves, entering their capital city known as Ironforge. She had also traveled to distant locations and had clashed with Orcs in Kalimdor more than one instance.

That was why she was a little bit more open minded then most of her kin, she had seen many unusual things which was why she was not as adverse to technology as some her sisters where. However even she had to admit that she had never seen anything like this before. It resembled one of the Gnome's flying machines but this was different in every respect, it looked better armored and armed for one and seemed to be very capable in carrying a large number of people if Saelia's group was of any indication.

But what really got her attention was the armored being that was tapping something that resembled a collection of small glowing symbols as the door suddenly closed. This being was almost as tall as the average height of one of her race's male kin. The thing resembled a Golem made from metal but it was human sized. She had heard of mages and warlocks being able to make Golems and had even seen the process herself in her long travels, but she had never seen a Golem that was human sized. And the way it moved was very fluid much like a living being, yet it did it at a much faster and precise pace.

She also laid her eyes upon the weapons that it was carrying on its back and thighs. A larger one that resembled a rifle she had seen some humans, dwarves, and gnomes had carried and used, but it seemed slimmer, more compact, and more elegant even compared to many of the rifles that she had seen them carry. She also couldn't see any packs of gunpowder or ammunition on this being so how did those weapons work?

She also looked at the guns on it's thighs and they were unlike anything she had seen. One resembled a pistol but it was smaller and sleeker then the ones she had seen. While the other weapon was larger than the pistols that were carried by the being and the two other races, yet it was smaller compared the larger one that was on the back of the giant of a being.

Shalla'tor tensed and growled as it looked at the being. Kiruna calmed her companion by gently gripping his fur and spoke in Darnassian to her friend.

"What in the name of Elune is that thing?" Kiruna asked repeating her question.

"A human if you can believe that Sister." replied Saelia after a moment's hesitation.

The Huntress gave Saelia an unconvinced look.

"Saelia you can't be serious, I have traveled for a very long time beyond Kalimdor and have seen the humans before, both in towns, and in groups. I have even been to their city of Stormwind and I have never seen a human that wore armor like that. It looks…different, very different from what I have seen humans wear. And those weapons of his, they look like guns used by the humans and the dwarves, yet different at the same time."

"I know Sister, but I have seen what the weapon on it's back can do first hand."

"How?"

Saelia quickly told her friend the story of her encounter just as the massive human walked over to them and spoke in a voice that spoke of strength and more besides in what sounded like Common.

"The Pelican is secured, so how do we get into Darnassus?"

Saelia sighed.

"Very well, Naros and I will guide you to Darnassus." she informed the Spartan. The Chief nodded his understanding.

She then turned back to Kiruna.

"I apologize for leaving so soon Kiruna, but I need to take this human to the Temple of the Moon to speak with Lady Tryande." Saelia explained.

"It is no trouble Saelia, since I'll be joining you."

Saelia started at that.

"Are you sure Kiruna? If you have other tasks that need your attention…"

"I am sure Saelia, it would not be an issue to help you escort this…human to Darnassus." Kiruna interrupted giving Saelia a small smile.

"Besides…" she continued giving a glance at the armored being. "I'm rather curious about this being and equally interested in seeing what Lady Tryande will say on the matter."

Saelia hesitated for a moment before nodding in understanding. There was little that she could do to dissuade Kiruna from doing what she will once she had set her mind on doing it.

She turned back to the Spartan.

"Follow us." she ordered.

The Spartan nodded and after three night elves bid farewell to the others of Saelia's patrol, the group departed.

So now the two women and the lone druid escorted the giant while the other Night Elves were murmuring to themselves as they had heard the conversation between the two friends. They couldn't help but ask if the thing before them was really human.

As they made their way to the portal that would serve as the only access point to the city, the Spartan looked about the town studying it, already running through several key bits of information. Judging by the port there and the number of houses as well as what appeared to be some sort of stable, this place was somewhat similar to a fishing village that served as a dock. Considering that this was an island it would make sense that the only way here was by boat, though he had a sneaking suspicion that there was more to the village than he had seen so far. It was fairly well guarded, judging by the number of guards there at the village and how well armed they were, it would make sense since this would be the only port in and out of the island.

He then looked at the portal and spotted the guards who were also well armed and to his surprise, he spotted some of the Night Elf Sentinel women riding on what appeared to be tigers like the one that was accompanying them and both were easily the size of one of the Warthog vehicles back at the Dawn. He had no idea what they were but they seemed to be around the same caliber as the now extinct Saber Tooth Tigers back on Earth. The massive creatures growled at their approach and it took a moment for him to resist the urge to take out his Assault Rifle and reduce the giant cats into bloody confetti.

He reminded himself that he was here to get answers and intelligence not start a fire fight in the middle of the capital of the Night Elves.

The trio talked to the guards in Darnassian, unwittingly allowing Cortana to gather more samples of their language for her translation program. The group escorting him continued to speak to the guards and after a few minutes of chatting, the head guard, judging from the heavier armor and insignia she had on moved forward to speak to the John in Common.

"Elune's grace be with you Master Chief, I am Captain Erya Stormeye, we have been instructed that High Priestess Tyrande has granted you permission to enter Darnassus."

"She sent word?" asked the Chief surprised that the Night Elves already knew he was here.

"Indeed she did, sadly I cannot leave my post here as my duty is to safeguard this place. I am however, going to make some conditions; this is not for inconvenience but for the safety of our people as well as our leader. I will assign one of my fellow guards to escort you to the Temple of Elune to meet with our High Priestess but before you enter the temple you must surrender your weapons before entering." Erya informed him.

The Spartan took a moment to think it over; those were sound precautions though he doubted that they would be able to stop him if things went south and had to fight. But he was here for information gathering, not assault or assassination so he nodded and replied.

"I will do as you ask."

Erya smiled as she could sense that this being before her was telling the truth. Like many she had been a veteran of the Third war and could tell when people were lying to her in one form or another. She then nodded to one of her fellow guards and the guard stepped forward and spoke in Common.

"Follow me."

**==O==**

As soon as they entered the portal, the Spartan and his A.I. companion had to admit that the place was certainly impressive, the buildings were made in medieval style of a mix of Byzantine Christian classicism to ancient Greek and Nordic style pagodas with wood and stone. However, the way the buildings were made reflected a very open air and meditative quality to it that left a hint of melancholy in the air.

The guard guided the Spartan and the three through the Temple Gardens towards the Temple of Elune or the Temple of The Moon as it was more commonly known. The Spartan had to admit, it was as large as an old style cathedral and its circular structure was similar to the designs of the Christian faith, a Mosque of the Islam faith, and a Synagogue of the Judaism, the three most central faiths in the UNSC's history.

Cortana would have wanted to gather more information on the rest of the city but she knew that the sooner they met with Tyrande then all the better. Of course the arrival of the Spartan was more than enough to get a number of Night Elves as well as few other beings to take notice. There were murmurings and comments, some sounded odd, others with a mix of hostility and the like, apart from that where the usual conversations that took place between those who were too busy to notice what was going on, at least at first. All of which were being recorded and logged in by Cortana while John gave the crowd a glance and observed that the Night Elves seemed to have skin tones ranging from pale white to blue to black, even to ruddy red. But it seems that the majority of them, including his escorts, had subtle shades of purple ranging from dark to light, and from almost blue to bright pink with violet being the most common.

"It seems that purple is all the rage around here, I like it already." Cortana praised with humor, her remark obviously referring to her own purple/blue color scheme.

John smiled and rolled his eyes at that.

He then turned his gaze and looked at the buildings. They seemed to be well constructed but he doubted that they were designed to handle being hit by heavy weapons fire if a serious attack happened.

However he kept in mind that even if an invading army was able to take out the guards in the village below, the portal was the only way in and that was a perfect bottleneck area for the defenders to set up a kill zone around the portal and wipe out their targets piece by piece as they would move in small groups or one at a time.

He had to give the Night Elves credit, they knew their stuff.

As they arrived at the temple entrance, the guard turned and signaled the Chief and his escorts to wait. She then approached the entrance to the temple where a female Sentinel wearing black and purple lined light armor was standing.

The two Night Elves spoke for a moment before the guard turned and waved the Chief to approach.

The Spartan walked to the Sentinel as the guard stepped aside. The Sentinel stared at him for a moment before speaking.

"Greetings to you Master Chief, I am Sentinel Stillbough. I have been informed by Lady Tyrande that you were granted an audience to speak with her and others who will be attending. I was also instructed to allow you to enter so that the Lady Tyrande may guide you to the meeting herself." she informed him.

Both the Chief and Cortana were both surprised at this to say the least.

"However, before I allow you to enter…" she turned and gestured to something next to her.

"I believe this is where your weapons will be left behind."

The Spartan looked to see a large wooden chest, apparently constructed of powerful wood and reinforced by thick metal with glowing etchings. Apparently this was where his gear was going to be kept. He hesitated for a brief moment but decided to get things done in order to meet Tyrande and show that he was not a threat.

He removed his Assault Rifle and released the magazine from the back end of the weapon. He then moved the firing bolt back to remove the 7,62x51mm FMJ AP round that was still in the firing chamber and caught the round easily with a flick of his hand. Then he loaded the released bullet back into the magazine that he had just released. He meticulously checked the gun and did a test fire aimed to the ground. The gun clicked and the Night Elves tensed, especially Saelia and Naros who had seen this weapon in action already and knew the result of it if it was aimed at a living being.

But those concerns were laid to rest as the weapon fired nothing, to the Spartan's satisfaction as he clicked the safety switch. He placed the rifle into the chest and then removed the eleven other magazines that he had with him. He then removed the SMG and pistol from his thighs and clicked their safeties on as well and then placed them next to the MA5C with their magazines. Once that was done, Sentinel Stillbough closed the chest and ordered several other female guards to watch over the gear. He then faced Stillbough.

"That's it." he told her.

Saelia was not entirely convinced and apparently neither was Stillbough but Stillbough nodded in acceptance. She turned to the guard who had guided the Chief, thanked her and told her to return to her post. Then she turned to the Chief and the Night Elves who were with him and told them to wait while she went inside and informed High Priestess Tyrande that they had arrived.

This made the Spartan wait for a while but he was not bothered by it as this allowed him to further study the city of Darnassus while allowing Cortana to gather more samples of the Darnassian language from the conversations between Saelia, Naros, Kiruna, and the other Night Elves around them to help with her work on the translation program. As he scanned the area, he began to get a feel of the city while waiting for word of if and when he could enter the temple. After all, he couldn't just walk in there uninvited since the place happened to be the place of worship and the central hub of government of the Night Elves. That was when Cortana spoke out to the Spartan in a private conversation.

"Not too bad a city if I do say so myself. Not the same as New Mombasa in it's glory days or the cities on Reach mind you, but good enough." she commented.

"Right, how's the program going?"

"As well as can be expected, with a few more words I should be able to finish it. Also there's no word of warning from the Dawn just yet, so I guess we can rest easy for now. Though I can bet our arrival has attracted attention. The only question is if it's the benevolent or the hostile kind?" Cortana wondered out loud.

John gave a slight nod as he was thinking along the same lines and wondered what the future held for the two of them.

**==O==**

At The Temple Gardens….

Sebastian Cross suddenly stopped in mid-stride looked on in shock at the human sized giant in green and black armor that was standing near the Temple of the Moon. The Soldier from Stormwind had to admit that the sight of this juggernaut was surprising to him in all respects. He was on his way to the portal to make the journey back to Stormwind when he heard a loud commotion near the temple. So decided to go take a look and see just what had gotten the Night Elves in such a ruckus.

Now he knew what it was…

This being had carried something that vaguely resembled guns yet were totally different from what he had seen. After all, he was a member of the 7th Legion, the elite forces of the Alliance. He had been sent here on an assignment from his superior to deliver a set of letters that were from his comrades, who were night elves that wanted to check up on their families. After delivering the letters, he was about to head home after grabbing some food and drink when he spotted this being.

"_What in the name of the Holy Light is that thing?_" he wondered with awe and dread.

The Alliance soldier shook his head and decided to try and get a closer view of the being. As he did so, he marveled at the armor, it was totally unlike anything he had seen before in his life yet there was no doubt that it was well constructed. There were also signs of battle on it as there were some scorched and melted areas as well as a few gashes in some areas. All of which told him that this being was no stranger to war.

He decided to leave and immediately return to Stormwind. While he had no idea what was going on, he decided it would be best if he informed his superiors as soon as possible. The news of this being might be very important for Alliance command to hear and the possibility that the being may be of help to the Alliance was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

**==O==**

After a few minutes, Sentinel Stillbough came back out of the temple and spoke to the Spartan in Common.

"Master Chief, you may enter the temple now. High Priestess Tyrande will be there to greet you and guide you to the second level momentarily."

John nodded as he, along with Saelia, Naros, and Kiruna, walked into the temple. When he entered he took a quick scan of the area and silently approved at what he saw. The place was certainly both well-made and aesthetically pleasing in terms of appearance and design. Like it's exterior, the interior of the temple was perfectly round with a ringed balcony that served as a walkway for the second floor which was accessible by way of a spiraled staircase at the far wall and all around the temple's stone walls were decorated with carvings that gave it an almost woodland feel to it. The majority of the first floor of the temple was covered by a well-made garden where at the center was a large statue of a robed female Night Elf raising up a giant dish that had flowing water pouring out of it and into the pond that surrounded it. The place also had a large hall where various robed female night elves, which he assumed were priestesses, were carrying out their duties and seemed not to have noticed him yet.

The Spartan continued to scan the temple's interior, only this time he was studying to it to determine the defensibility of this location and how it could be infiltrated by the enemy if this place was ever attacked.

It was at that moment when a violet skinned night elf male with forest green hair arrived and this one was dressed in the same manner as Naros and like Naros he was barefooted and had amber eyes which told him that the new arrival was a druid, the only difference was that his clothing and manner were more related to someone of high authority. There was also an aura about him that signaled of someone used to power and demanded respect from others because of said position. That was when John was informed by Cortana that she had nearly finished the translation program and decided to give it a test run.

Saelia seemed to be the first to recognize the new arrival and spoke in Darnassian to Naros.

"Archdruid Fandral Staghelm? What brings him here now of all times?" asked a surprised Saelia.

"I believe that Lady Tyrande may have summoned him to attend the meeting. Sentinel Stillbough did say that others would be with Lady Tyrande to speak with the Master Chief. So it would stand to reason that the Archdruid would be among them, given that the Spartan's arrival is a concern to us all." reasoned Naros.

"That seems rather likely." commented Kiruna

Saelia nodded slowly in acceptance of Naros's explanation while still watching the archdruid approaching them.

This time John recognized the words being spoken by the two night elves and realized that the one before him was someone of high rank. But he didn't like the way this archdruid carried himself or the look of utter contempt the night elf was giving him, which was more than enough to prove that this guy was a person with a superiority complex. It was then that Archdruid Fandral turned to Naros and spoke in Darnassian to him, only this time the Spartan could understand him.

"Greetings young Naros, who is this…. stranger and why is it here?" he asked calmly but had noticeable bit on the words stranger and it which made the Chief to narrow his eyes at him.

Naros bowed his head respectfully and answered as several more Night Elves came into the temple in their usual routines.

"He is a guest of High Priestess Tyrande and is here at her request Archdruid."

"Really now? I was under the impression that Tyrande was not expecting anyone to come here to meet with her today. What exactly is "he" anyway?" Fandral asked with mild interest.

Naros hesitated, sending a nervous glance to Saelia and Kiruna saw that they were all having the same thought.

"_He does not know!_"

The three Night Elves were not sure how to respond but Naros decided to speak when he saw the Archdruid moved over to face the Spartan and loomed over him, using his height and physical build to his advantage.

"He is human." Naros finally answered.

Fandral raised an eye brow at that and looked at the Spartan with a sneer, something that was beginning to annoy the Spartan.

"A Human you say? What manner of nonsense is this!? No human dresses like this and if he is truly human, then why does he hide his face?"

Saelia then replied.

"We do not know why he does not reveal his face Archdruid, but he chooses to keep it as such and as he has not harmed anyone then we cannot force him." Saelia quickly said before Naros could say anything.

"Indeed…"

That was when Fandral turned to the Master Chief and spoke in Common, indicating that this time the Spartan was the one being spoken to.

"Allow me ask you something human…if you are indeed human, who are you and what is your business here?" he demanded curtly with narrowed eyes as he stared down at the Chief.

Needless to say Fandral's attempt to intimidate the Spartan was doomed to failure as the Spartan was unmoved. John had faced many terrors in his long career that would, magic-user or not, make Frandral pale by comparison. He had faced Mgalekgolo or more commonly known as the Hunters, these hulking monstrous beings that were comprised of massive worm like beings that were linked together while being a separate being at the same time, were bundled in a bipedal armor that were armed with a plasma cannon and a thick shield. But what made them more deadly, was that they always came in pairs. And of course, he had faced the Jiralhanae or the Brutes as they were known, carnivorous ape-like beings with a love for violence and bloodshed as well as deadly fanatics to the Covenant religion.

Both races were massive beings, the Hunters stood well over twelve to thirteen feet and would easily slaughter entire platoons of UNSC combat personnel on their own due to their armor, weaponry, and ferocity. The Brutes were between eight to nine feet tall and had the strength to even rival the Hunters. They were also known to kill Hunters in hand to hand combat especially when in a berserker rage.

These were among the reasons why the Spartan was not intimidated in the least and he made that obvious to the Archdruid as he replied in Common which Fandral no doubt understood well enough.

"I'm here to speak to your leader not you and you're in my way."

Fandral growled at that and spoke in a more feral tone, showing his contempt of the Spartan.

"How dare you speak to me in such a way! Do you know who it is you are addressing!?"

"I know very well who you are, Archdruid Fandral Staghelm, and I don't care. You're not the recognized leader of the Night Elves, High Priestess Tyrande Whisperwind is, and I have business with her, not you." the Chief coldly replied.

Many of the Priestesses who were walking the temple grounds had already begun to notice the Chief, gasped in surprise at the Chief's manner and response to Fandral's normal routine of intimidation.

Fandral became even angrier while Saelia, Naros, and Kiruna started in surprise. Though they had mentioned the Archdruid's name a few times beforehand but as far as they knew, the Spartan and the Archdruid had never met. So how did the Spartan know Fandral?

As for the Night Elf in question, he could see his angered expression being reflected right back at him by the Spartan's visor and it further enraged him that this being or whatever he was didn't seem to be bothered by his actions and he was not pleased by this at all.

"Take great care with your words human, if you are human…"

**==O==**

Tyrande had been observing the scene that was transpiring before her for a while now as she was about to enter the room. Like the other Night Elves who were in the temple she had stopped in surprise to see the Spartan as he walked into the temple. Though she had been told by Naros about this 'Master Chief' she had not believed that he was entirely what the young druid had described, now she realized that she would have to rethink her previous assumptions.

She had to admit that this human, if he truly was one underneath all that unusual armor, was very interesting. Most beings of other races would have been intimidated by Fandral due to his stature, height, and the air of magical power he carried. But the Spartan seemed neither to notice nor care about that kind of detail. As she moved closer without alerting anyone, she found some level of amusement at the look of livid rage on the archdruid's face. The normal arrogance and smugness of the archdruid was gone as the Master Chief continued to be unmoved and from the way Fandral was acting, he might even attempt to try to goad this Master Chief into a fight.

As much as she would personally enjoy in seeing Fandral receive a long overdue lesson in humility, she knew that fighting within the Temple of Elune was absolutely forbidden. Not only that, but a fight would also have serious ramifications for all parties involved. With that in mind she spoke to the pair before her.

"What is going on here?"

The two stopped and Fandral moved aside to allow the Spartan to finally meet High Priestess Tyrande Whisperwind herself. John noted that like many the Night Elf females he had already seen and met, Tyrande was an attractive woman in a stunning yet feral way. She had the build of her female kindred with violet skin and had deep blue hair, similar to the hair that Kelly had when she dyed it when they were still young, though he had a feeling that Tyrande's hair color was natural. The clothing she wore, while simple compared to some of the fashion dresses he had seen on holo-screens before in civilian centers of the UNSC, suited her well along with the adornments that showed her place as the leader of her people.

However he could sense a great deal of power in her. She moved with the grace of a warrior and her silver glowing eyes were focused and clear in their meaning. Not only that, he ran his magic detection mode, he saw that she was a bonfire of magic as well. She had an energy signature which showed that the magic was a pure healthy green that was without any blemishes. The bow she carried also looked simple but was well made after he returned to his normal vision. She was every bit as was described to him by Saelia.

One thing was for sure, this would be a very interesting meeting.

Cortana also commented as she spoke in private with her Spartan.

"She's not bad looking to say the least, and her magic levels are really high. I suggest you do your best to be nice John. She is the head of state here and a veteran warrior at that." she advised.

"Right."

Fandral then spoke to Tyrande unaware of the conversation between the A.I. and the Spartan.

"Who is this stranger you have given permission to enter the temple Tyrande?" he demanded.

The woman mentally sighed, preparing for what was going to be yet another war of words between her and Fandral.

"He is the one told to me by Druid Naros, apparently he has come from an unknown world and landed here in our lands. He was tracked by Sentinel Saelia and her patrol, but when her patrol was attacked by Orcs of the Twilight's Hammer Clan, he came to their aid and slaughtered the Orcs. I had requested his presence to meet with myself and others to determine his intentions. In fact, I was about send word for you to attend when he arrived much sooner than I anticipated." she informed Fandral in Darnassian.

Tyrande then looked at the Spartan and offered a slight smile as she spoke in Common.

"Greetings to you….Master Chief, I suppose you know who I am?"

The Spartan nodded and did something that he had heard about that people did to greet people of high rank back in the medieval days and decided to try it out. He gave a bow to the night elf and spoke with as much a respectful tone as he could.

"I know who you are. You are Tyrande Whisperwind, High Priestess of the Sisters of Elune and veteran Commander of the Third War, Sentinel Moonstrider spoke very highly of you."

Tyrande was both surprised and amused by that.

"Indeed? I thank you for the greeting, although I have been told by Naros of the name you prefer to be used, I would like to hear your full name and rank if you do not mind."

The Spartan nodded and still stood ramrod straight and replied.

"I am Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan-Sierra 117 of the UNSC Navy, at your service High Priestess Tyrande."

The woman nodded as she could tell that today was going to be a very interesting day. She silently thanked Elune that none of the other Alliance ambassadors were here at the moment as who knew how they would react to what was soon to come.

**==O==**

**Author's Notes: Well folks that wraps up chapter 3! It certainly was an interesting turn of events. The Chief visits the Night Elf capital of Darnassus and gets to speak with Tyrande Whisperwind herself, oh and Fandral Staghelm of course. That guy is such an ass don't you think? And what's with that strange dream that Saelia had? Was it just a dream or was it a sign of things yet to come?**

**Remember to review and don't be afraid to give your opinion or any ideas you might have that I can put into this story as I will consider them so long as their professional. And don't worry I'll have the next chapter up as soon as I can but it may be awhile since I'll be taking sometime to my Christmas gifts. So until then, see ya later and Merry Christmas!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own World of Warcraft or Halo as those were developed by Blizzard Entertainment, Bungie Studios, 343 Industries, and subsidiary companies respectively. I only own the OCs.**

**Author's Notes: Hi folks I'm back! Sorry that I hadn't updated in a while but I had a crazy semester at college and didn't have a whole lot of time writing my story. Plus I had a few moments of inspiration and I wanted to get it all down on paper while they were still fresh in my mind. And I know you guys were probably expecting more than one chapter after all this time but I have a good reason for doing so. Along with updating this story I've also published a new story called Mechdread so feel free to check it out. Also for those of you who may have not noticed I've change the timeline of this story because at first I wasn't sure how to fit Halo's timeline within World of Warcraft's timeline but now I am. Now with that out of the way, onto the story!**

**"**Talking**"**

**_"_**_Thoughts__**"**_

**==O==**

**Chapter 4**

**Meet the Kaldorei **

**==O==**

**Day 2; April 12, 2554 **

**Location: Temple of the Moon**

**Local time unknown, sometime in the afternoon.**

**==O==**

John followed the high priestess as she led him to a room on the second level where the meeting would undoubtedly take place. As he and the Night Elves entered the room John did visual sweep of the room and found it to have a rather simple setting, a long elegantly designed wooden table positioned horizontally with four chairs and one more noticeable detail.

Four other female night elves were already waiting in the room.

Two of the Night Elves who were standing behind one of the seats on the center right both had the common theme of silver eyes and violet skin of their race with one having white hair and the other pink. Both appeared to be priestesses, judging by how similar their robes were to Tyrande's.

The third night elf standing next to the seat on the far left wore a greenish hued, violet trimmed armor that went from the neck down that consisted of a form-fitting breastplate, shoulder guards, and padded metal and leather leg guards that went from her hips to her boots. The night elf herself had light purple skin with long curly blue hair that went past the shoulder blades and jagged tattoos beneath her eyes.

The fourth and final night elf standing next to the seat on the far right had violet skin and had the most unusual appearance of the others as she was bald save her long eyebrows and green hair which was fixed into a long top knot style and a crescent moon tattoo in the middle of her forehead. She also wore what appeared to be an exotic metal plated armor with gauntlets ending in claws while the armor itself was fitted with a green velvet cloak which held a fringe of deadly, razor-sharp blades along the hem.

"These must be the other night elves that the High Priestess told us about." Cortana commented while observing their hosts.

The Chief said nothing but he silently agreed with her.

When they noticed that he had entered the room with Tyrande they respectfully greeted her, with the fourth night elf merely nodding, before turning their attention to him. The two priestesses looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and nervousness probably wondering who and what he was. The third night elf gazed at him with interest though her eyes held a hint of suspicion in them and her posture indicated that she had a great deal of combat experience. While the face of fourth night elf was expressionless as she silent observed him as if she was evaluating or judging him which reminded the Chief of the way the "Spooks" from ONI would look at people.

"Master Chief." called Tyrande drawing his attention to her. "Allow me to introduce the others who will attend this meeting."

"This is Sentinel General Shandris Feathermoon," she gestured to the third night elf on the right with a hint of fondness in her voice. "She is the Commander of the Sentinel Army."

Shandris nodded, confirming the Chief's impression of her.

Tyrande then turned to the two night elves at the center. "These are two among the senior members of the Sisters of Elune, Priestess Heilna Featherflight and Priestess Meridia Nightsong." She introduced the white and pink haired night elves respectively with both of the priestesses bowing their heads slightly in acknowledgement to the Spartan.

"This is Warden Cordana Felsong of the Watchers." Tyrande said as she introduced the last night elf who said nothing as she continued to stare at him.

"And of course you already know Fandral Stagehelm, Archdruid and leader of the Cenarion Circle." she remarked neutrally though John could tell that Tyrande was trying hide her disdain for the other night elf.

Fandral merely glowered at John.

The High Priestess then turned to address the recently introduced night elves.

"Sisters, thank you for coming on such short notice. This is the human who calls himself the Master Chief," she explained gestured to John as he stood next to her. "He is the reason why I have called this meeting."

"Of course my lady, you would not have summoned us if it was not urgent." Shandris said respectfully with John noticing that her tone was laced with reverence as well. "But why does this... human hold such an interest?"

The other night elves nodded also wanting know the very same thing.

John knew that Shandris wasn't being condensing or impolite, she was just genuinely curious about him.

Tyrande smiled at Shandris. "That is one of the many questions that will be answered at this meeting."

She then signaled for the night elves take their seats and as they did she made her way to the seat on the center right. Fandral followed close behind her and gave John a withering glare as he past which John thoroughly ignored. At the same time Saelia and Kiruna went and stood behind General Shandris while Naros stood next to the archdruid who now sat on the center left seat.

Once the night elves were settled Tyrande began to speak.

"Before we begin I would like to thank you Master Chief for coming to the aid of Saelia's patrol from an attack by Orcs of the Twilight's Hammer clan."

All the other night elves in the room, save Saelia, Naros, and Cordana with the former two nodding in acknowledgement and thanks while the latter had a subtle look of intrigue, started in surprise as it was obviously news to them.

"You're welcome." the Chief said simply.

Tyrande smiled and nodded while Fandral recovered from his surprise with a sneer.

"Is that so? Tell us then, _"Master Chief"_, what was it that compelled you to so _valiantly_ come to their aid? And why haven't you told us your true name?" he asked with suspicion while raising his eyebrow in mock curiosity.

Tyrande frowned at the archdruid along with Shandris who glared at him. Saelia and Naros on the other hand looked almost embarrassed as they realized that didn't even ask for the Chief's name while Kiruna and Cordana watched on with keen interest.

"I helped them because I needed help." answered the Chief, unperturbed by Fandral's attitude.

"How so? You seem capable of defending yourself." reasoned Kiruna confused by the Chief's answer. She wasn't the only one as the other night elves, except for Saelia, Naros, and Tyrande who already knew the answer, also seemed confused by the Chief's reply.

"I needed information about where I am and your people were more likely to help than the Orcs." he explained.

"What makes you so sure that we would be more inclined to help you than the Orcs from the Twilight's Hammer?" asked Shandris interested in what his answer would be and somewhat suspicious of his motives.

"From the way they and Saelia's group fought." John stated leaving the nights elves with puzzled expressions on their faces. "Saelia's group fought together and watched each other's backs while defending themselves. The Orcs just fought with no discipline and didn't care whether they or the ones beside them died. That told me everything that I needed to know." he explained upon seeing their confusion.

"You determined all of this just by watching their battle?" asked Shandris who looked thoroughly impressed.

"Yes."

The other nights was also impressed while Saelia smiled at the Chief's complement of how well her patrol fought. Fandral did nothing except continue to glare at John.

"Also the reason why I haven't told you my name is because I'm not authorized to. It comes with being a Spartan." the Chief added answering Fandral's second question.

While this struck the night elves as odd none of them questioned him any further on the subject.

"Thank you Master Chief. For both aiding our kin and in answering us honestly. Now if there is nothing else, can you tell us about where come from?" Tyrande quickly asked wishing to continue the meeting before Fandral decided to interrupt again.

"Actually High Priestess there's someone I'd like to introduce who will make things much easier to explain."

Tyrande tilted her head slightly to the side out of both confusion and curiosity but Saelia and Naros seemed to know who the Chief was referring to.

The Chief then held out his hand."Cortana."

Cortana then appeared in the palm of his hand causing the eyes of the night elves, except Saelia and Naros, to widen in surprise.

Tyrande had of course been told by Naros about this mysterious woman of light but she had been somewhat skeptical. But now, as she stared at the smiling miniature woman of light, all doubts left her mind.

Cortana continued to smile at her night elf audience when she decided to break the ice.

"Hello. My name is Cortana."

Tyrande quickly recovered from her surprise as she began to introduce herself.

"Greetings Cortana. I am-" she started.

"I know who you are High Priestess Tyrande Whisperwind." interrupted Cortana as she held her smile. "I was watching and listening as you and the Chief were talking."

Tyrande was even more surprised by that but before she could ask Cortana to clarify, Fandral spoke out.

"And just what are you exactly? Some kind of wisp? A spirit? An undead specter? Or perhaps you are demon yourself!" accused Fandral with his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

Tyrande frowned turning to face Fandral and was about reprimand him when she heard Cortana laugh.

Cortana's laugh then turned into a fit of giggles, much to the surprise of the other night elves and to the annoyance of Fandral, which soon stopped while keeping her amused expression.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself. But you know it's very rude to place your shortcomings with other women on a girl you just met." she teased while facing Fandral.

Fandral's face held a look of outrage while every other night elf had entirely different reactions. Saelia, Naros, and Kiruna were shocked as they had never heard of anyone who spoke so brazenly to the archdruid before. Shandris wore a smug look as eyed the embarrassed Frandral while Cordana slightly raised an eyebrow and had a twitch of a smile that left as soon as it appeared. The two priestesses held up their hands to their mouths, trying to hide the fit of giggles that they had gone into while the high priestess wasn't much better off, as it took every ounce of her composure to keep her somewhat straight face and not end up like her fellow priestesses.

The Chief let out a small smile.

"To answer your question, no I am not any of those. I am an A.I. with personality, as you can see." She said simply.

Before Fandral could retort Tyrande held up a hand. "What is an A.I.?" she asked curiously.

"A.I. is an acronym for Artificial Intelligence. Short version, I am made up of a complex series of programming that is very smart and I work out really complicated problems for the UNSC." Cortana replied, careful not to give away too much info.

Tyrande slightly frowned at the lack of clarity but was nonetheless satisfied.

"Thank you Cortana. Now, if that is all-"

"A moment High Priestess." interrupted Fandral with a smirk. "How do we know this…human is truly what he says he is? How do we know that he isn't a demon if he conceals his face?"

Tyrande frowned at being so causally interrupted but she knew it was a valid question and looked to the Chief.

The Spartan hesitated for a moment until Cortana faded back into his armor then he removed his helmet with a snap and a hiss. Needless to say the night elves in the room were surprised to see that the Spartan was indeed human, namely Saelia as she had expected him to be many things once he revealed himself to them. She imaged him as true demon of some sort underneath the armor, a living being of death and carnage as she had witnessed earlier from him, or even a battle scarred warrior whose visage spoke of death just from a glance. These and many other possibilities occurred in her mind, but nothing to what she was seeing before her.

The Master Chief was pale, almost albino, yet he didn't seem to have any visible signs of physical weakness, in fact he seemed to be at the peak of health. Saelia knew enough about male humans to see that the Master Chief was actually quite handsome for a male of his species. He had strong, well chiseled features that showed no flaws or facial hair. He also had reddish brown hair that was cut short in what seemed like a military style which seemed suited to him as it gave him the aura of a veteran soldier which he no doubt was. But the most telling of his features was his eyes.

His eyes were pale blue and they glowed in an inner fire that seemed to be cool and calm but there was no denying the power that lay hidden within them. His gaze was also very different from a normal human. It was calculating, intense, focused, with hints of sadness, absolute confidence, as well as patience.

All of which intrigued Saelia as she continued to quietly observe the Chief from the sidelines. And apparently she was not the only one, as she glanced at her fellow night elves and found that they all had a similar reaction to her own. She then returned her gaze to the Spartan waiting to see how this meeting would unfold.

After a moment's pause, the Spartan turned to the archdruid.

"Does this answer your question?" he asked.

Fandral remained silent as he gazed at the Spartan and then nodded as sat back down.

"It does. Now then tell us, where are you from and why are you here?"

The Spartan placed his helmet back on and his face was once again obscured behind it. Then he looked to Tyrande for permission to proceed to which she smiled and nodded.

"I think it would be better if I showed you, Cortana?"

Cortana then reappeared. "Yes Chief?"

"Could you show a few non-classified images and information?"

"Way ahead of you Chief."

Needless to say Tyrande and her fellow night elves were surprised by the images that Cortana began to show them as she gathered the information she had stored away. Although she and John had decided to leave out information concerning the Halo Array and the Forerunners for now as this was considerably sensitive information and would best be kept hidden away from anyone, even potential allies. After all, the knowledge that somewhere in this galaxy were weapons that could purge the entire galaxy of all living things would most likely be a problem if mentioned to the people of this world to say the least.

The data that the A.I. was showing them was a basic summary of the history of the UNSC, though the A.I. withheld the name of the UNSC homeworld of Earth or its exact location, along with any other data by UNSC standards that was considered classified. The images highlighted the expansion of the UNSC from Earth and the development of the Slipspace drive, which was something that was a lot harder to explain than most, but John and Cortana finally explained that it was a technological equivalent to a portal made by magic. The night elves watched as the humans of the UNSC begin to build what in their eyes was a ship among the very stars in the depths of the Great Dark Beyond.

The night elves watched in amazement as the UNSC build their colonies and their fleets in the very void of the stars; it was naturally shocking for them to think that humans who had no knowledge of magic could be able to accomplish such feats. In fact out of all the whole races of Azeroth, this was something that only the draenei were able to do. And to their further amazement, instead of destroying whole tracks of land for their own needs, the humans of the UNSC were able to actually live a life that was in balance with nature as there were still beautiful lands and forests around their cities. The UNSC Army and the UNSC Marine Corps were also surprising as they had never seen the kinds of items and weapons that these human men and women carried.

The night elves were also surprised to see the kinds of vehicles and weapons the UNSC soldiers used in battle. Saelia herself was no stranger to the effectiveness of such weapons in battle and Tyrande had been told about how deadly those weapons were thanks to Naros showing the memories of the battle through magic. Both women and just about all the others in the room were very much surprised and worried about the sheer carnage such weapons could bring into the field of battle as well as among the stars when the UNSC warships went to war.

Naturally Tyrande was very serious about her next question after learning of this.

"Why would your people need to rely on such destructive weapons to wage wars? If your people are as powerful as you say, then would there not be a need for them?" she asked while the other night elves nodded in agreement.

"Because we soon faced enemies that would warrant those weapons. And while you think that these weapons were destructive, the weapons and forces of our enemies were even more powerful. This enemy was a collection of races united by religion and faith that called themselves the Covenant. I would tell you more but I'm not sure how well you would take it if I showed you more about them."

That was when Fandral spoke.

"We have faced the very wrath of the Burning Legion, the encroachment of our lands by the lesser races, the incursions of fthe Scourge, and countless other threats as well as the traitor Illidan and his hordes of Naga. How can your enemies equal that?" he sneered while Tyrande flinched at the mention of Illidan's name.

The Spartan looked at everyone else in the room and saw the skepticism on their faces. Seeing that since they were serious about this, he decided to show them one of the key battles that took place early in the Human-Covenant War, one of the first of many battles that would follow.

"Alright. But before I show you more I should warn you that what you'll see will be disturbing." he said seriously.

Fandral simply snorted at that while the rest of the night elves remained silent and looked on.

The Spartan began by showing them a beautiful world known as Minerva, one of the colonized worlds in what they were told were the Outer Colonies of the UNSC. The capital city of New Ithaca was located there, and it was a very large and bustling metropolis with a sizeable population numbering at least five million people. It had a heavy garrison Marine and Army forces, complete with everything that they would need as well as a small but mobile orbital defense fleet.

It didn't do them any good as the Covenant came and for the first time, the night elves where shown what happened as the Covenant brushed aside the orbital defenses and descended upon the city of New Ithaca.

In moments, the Spartan's records showed the UNSC fighting their best to keep the Covenant forces from landing on the planet's surface, but the Covenant ships which were pointed out by the Spartan were able to brush the ships aside. Soon the climax of the battle had begun as more UNSC ships from Frigates to Destroyers and even the massive Cruisers came on site to fight as the Chief and his own team of Spartans were on their way to the surface to aid the exhausted and shell shocked survivors.

The city that was once massive and beautiful, even by night elf standards, was now turned into a hellish place. Pristine buildings were now reduced to rubble, fires were ablaze everywhere, trails of glowing energy flew as the UNSC flying machines shown to be Shortswords, Longswords, Vultures, Pelicans, and Hornets were waging a brutal aerial war with Covenant air forces which was somewhat similar to battles with aerial mounts of the Alliance and Horde would fight another, but with machines instead and while those forces clashed and fought with sheer ferocity over the now blackened skies, the once massive towers of the city were now torn and ruined as fires and smoke filled the sky.

The night elves found themselves unable to move as they looked at the images before them and around them, the battle in space was shocking enough, but as soon as the Spartan and his companions hit the surface of the now ravaged city and hearing the Spartan give his orders, they finally saw the real carnage on the ground.

All around them were buildings that were ruined and blackened, vehicles upturned and burning, the screams of the living were there as well, and then they saw the bodies of the humans of this UNSC. All around the Spartan and his comrades were people, twisted and mutilated beyond recognition, rivers of blood flowing everywhere into pools before their eyes. The bodies of young children, teenagers, and adults littered the streets and the ruined buildings, many of them sporting horrific wounds, some had limbs and even heads removed, their innards revealed in the harsh light of combat. It was not limited to just civilians, as soldiers wearing UNSC Body Armor and carrying weapons were there, their bodies bleeding heavily from severe wounds, others were burned by plasma fire that parts of their bodies had sometimes been scorched to the point that they were hardly recognizable.

All throughout the city were the screams of the dying, the wounded, and of those who were killed without mercy. The recording stopped briefly then showed a lone Marine being interrogated by a lone sangheili in black armor who was surrounded by a number of kig-yar who were chattering hungrily, their blood thirsty eyes glued to the wounded Marine as he was being held up by his neck by his captor. His right arm hanging on through a few strands of skin and flesh while blood flowed down his legs. Cortana then increased the volume of the recording and magnified the image to make the whole thing larger to see.

_"You fought well for such a weak creature, you Humans have shown true courage and honor in fighting us even if your death is the will of the Gods. But know that we are not without mercy, and so I shall grant you a swift death."_ the Elite sneered in mock respect.

The marine, his face twisted in pain and hatred, as his name was shown as Sargent Michel Stevens, spat at the Elite's face.

_"Go…to….Hell, you… split-chinned… bastard!"_ he rasped through clenched teeth.

The sangheili gave a sound that was like a laugh and its mandibles twisted in a form of a smile as it spoke.

_"Even in the face of death, you fight with all of your will and soul. You Humans truly are impressive creatures despite your weakness. Therefore I shall indeed grant you an honorable death… death by the sword."_

With that, the sangheili took out a handle and ignited it into what Saelia and Naros recognized as an Energy Sword.

The Night Elves there watched as the Elite stabbed the weapon right through the Marine's body, they heard Michel's strangled cry of pain for a moment until his head rolled down lifelessly. And then to their shock, the Elite casually tossed the dead human's body aside only for the Jackals to suddenly leap upon Franklin's bodyand begin to devour him.

"Elune's mercy!" gasped Priestess Meridia with a look of utter horror on her face.

The recording changed images, showing that the Spartans were now on the move, but Tyrande interrupted the recording when she began to speak.

"How could you and your comrades leave that man to die like that? Why didn't you try to save him?" she asked sternly, though her face showed that she was doing her best not to lose her composure.

The Spartan could see that the same question were in the faces of the attending night elves, even Fandral was confused as to why he had not helped the wounded and helpless Marine while Cordana only slightly narrowed her eyes as assessing or judging him.

"On your world High Priestess, you can wipe out a patrol and would have plenty of time to do what you need before they were missed by their allies. In mine, our technology and the Covenant can shorten that to mere moments. If we had attacked, they would have warned their forces of our position and their defenses would have been much harder to break through and they would have been harder to eliminate" he explained. "No one, least of all me, wanted that man to die the way he did, but it was either his life or the lives of many others in the city. It's hard and cruel, but it was necessary. We all knew the risks and so did he."

The night elves were left stunned by this, even Shandris and Cordana, both who could be counted amongst the most composed, were disturbed. But any complaint they had died as they saw the truth in what the Master Chief said. Tyrande herself recalled how some of her sisters gave their lives so that others could live. She understood that so she spoke no more of it as the images of the events continued to play out before her.

Eventually the Spartans were able to meet up with the survivors of the garrisons and soon began to gather what they could in order to fight to allow the survivors to escape from their now doomed home world. The night elves watched as the Spartans gathered what they could alongside the surviving soldiers and move out. They even salvaged whatever weapons and ammunition they could find from their dead comrades.

Tyrande was horrified by the carnage before her, to know that in only half a day, nearly all of the people in that city were slaughtered, and even their best soldiers on the ground, despite their valiant efforts, could do little to stop the incoming advance, what had once been two different groups that had nearly a hundred thousand soldiers and so much firepower were cut down to less than a hundred each in only half a day. The idea of such slaughter on a scale like this nearly made her ill, something that she had rarely felt before in her long life.

She looked to her left and she saw a for a moment the body of a human child, a little girl, her eyes gripped in terror in death, her mouth opened in a scream but her throat was cut as blood flowed through her mouth, nose, and throat with her body showing signs of being gnawed upon by beasts, the handiwork of the blood thirsty Jackals. The sight sent waves of revulsion and remorse through her as she looked at the poor child's terror stricken face.

She looked to her right and saw a dead member of the UNSC Army with his left arm blown off below the elbow, his eyes closed and blood streaming out from the gouges of his burned body armor with his right hand clutching his assault rifle in death. Some distance behind him was a woman who had been gunned down and a massive series of burns on her back showed that she had been shot as she tried to flee with , to her further horror, a bloody bundle not too far from the woman.

That however changed when the Spartan and his soldiers finally engaged the Covenant. The night elves watched as they watched the Spartans and his comrades fight with their foes in the records as they all looked at the Covenant races as Cortana explained them one by one, from the Unggoy or the Grunts, to the Sangheili or the Elites, the Kig-Yar or the Jackals, the Yanme'e or the Drones, the Jiralhanae or the Brutes, and the Mgalekgolo or the Hunters. The battles that erupted between the UNSC were undeniably brutal as several human survivors were slain in the most violent manner possible while the Covenant races were also slain by the soldiers of the UNSC and the Spartans as they moved like shadows or avatars of war with Covenant soldiers falling before them. Screams and curses filled the air, human and alien in a symphony of unmatched destruction and bloodshed. It was like reliving the bloodiest battles, yet they were not part of the whole thing. The night elves in the temple found themselves in the record, even if they could not smell the flames, the stench of flesh being burned, or hear the sounds of fighting and dying around them, felt like they were actually there.

All of this reminded Tyrande of the first slaughter at Suramar so long ago….this was the only time she had ever been reminded of that day, and she couldn't help but feel sickened once more.

This battle waged on until the Spartans were forced to evacuate all the surviving civilians and soldiers from the world. Just when the night elves thought it was over they saw, to their shock, as the ship the Chief was on began to leave the Covenant fleet were now unleashing their full might to reduce the world below them into nothing but a lifeless world. Cortana explained it all as the night elves watched in horror as the once verdant and lush planet that would have easily been an ideal home for their people and the other races of Azeroth was reduced into a barren wasteland by the Covenant.

After this, Tyrande was speechless and looked at the Spartan with hard eyes.

She had seen the carnage of the war with the Burning Legion nearly ten thousand years ago during the Great Sundering and yet again when the Legion came again after the Alliance and Horde arrived in their land five years ago. She was no stranger to bloodshed and death, but seeing warfare of this level, with such brutality was utterly shocking to her and she couldn't help but try her very best to fathom just how could it be like this.

"Is this how wars are fought on your worlds?"

"No High Priestess. What you just saw was not a war, but a single battle, one among hundreds that would last for over thirty years, resulting in over two hundred and ninety nine other worlds being subjected to the same fate as Minerva." John replied without emotion.

This was utterly disturbing to the night elves. The thought of so much slaughter on so many different worlds and on such a scale… they had seen the devastating power of magic, but to see such wars where magic never existed and done with this level of brutality and with such ruthless and thorough efficiency, was very difficult and disturbing for them to conceive.

"How long have you been in this war with this….Covenant?" Shandris asked after a moment of silence.

"I have been fighting them ever since I was fourteen years old." John replied.

Shandris's eyes widened at that and so had everyone else's, even the normally stoic Cordana was shocked.

"You have been fighting them since you were that young?" Tyrande asked softly when she found the composure to speak again.

"Yes. Technically I am forty-three years old but thanks to UNSC medicine and technology, I am physically younger and I will live longer than most humans."

This greatly surprised the night elves but soon that surprise turned to dread at what the Spartan said next.

"But the Covenant was not the only enemy we had to fight, there was a worse threat that came later, a threat called…"

"No more….please! By Elune's mercy I have seen enough…. stop these images!" pleaded Tyrande with a trembling voice.

The Spartan could see the distress in the face of the High Priestess, while her two attending priestesses had the same look of distress with Cordana and Shandris giving her a sympathetic glance, so John agreed but not before he told them of the end of the war where the lies of the Prophets finally were revealed. How the Sangheili revolted for the betrayal of their race by their former leaders, how they fought side by side to finally end the conflict, and how he and Cortana finally ended up on Azeroth.

Tyrande decided that she had seen enough for one day and decided to end the discussion for now about where the Spartan came from. However, one thought still troubled her about the events she witnessed.

"After all that….fighting and bloodshed, how could you not have become maddened by all of this….slaughter?"

John could tell that this was important to her and decided to answer.

"As Spartans we were trained to fight and endure through everything and win. We were once trained to stop rebellion, but when the Covenant came, we then fought to save every human life we could. We fought a war for our very survival, our right to exist. That was why no matter what happened, there were other soldiers who never gave up and those soldiers refused to lie down and die, because they knew that they were the ones to defend their homes, their families, and those who could not fight back."

Tyrande was silent; she looked at the Spartan and marveled that someone like him was able to survive the level of fighting she had seen with her own two eyes. That added further weight to what she had seen from Naros's magical sphere as well as his report. That was when she recalled something that she had heard from the records that the Spartan showed her.

"What exactly are you? I understand from what I have seen that this title you have is your rank and you are a member of the Navy of your UNSC, but what does Spartan mean? Does it hold any particular significance? You were called that by your fellow humans many times, and even called demon by these Covenant, why is that?" she asked curiously.

The Spartan thought about it and replied.

"The term Spartan is from ancient soldiers of the same name, the Spartans were a civilization of an old city-state in an ancient kingdom on our homeworld. They were warriors who fought relentlessly against overwhelming odds so we were named in honor of them."

"As for why they called us Demons, it was because we inflicted heavy casualties upon them many times, especially when I destroyed a place that was sacred to their faith."

Tyrande took it all in and she thought deeply on the things she had learned.

"Now that you have told us all of this I must know something. What your plans are while you are here in the lands of my people? If you are to stay here, I need to know your full intentions so I can make a proper decision regarding your stay in our lands." she finally said.

The Spartan nodded.

"Fair enough. I'm not here to cause trouble for you or your people. I'll only be on this world until my people come and retrieve me. But until that time, I would like some information about this world while I stay here."

"Oh? What sort of information?" Tyrande asked.

"Everything. Maps, cultures, customs, social hierarchies, factions…everything. I need to know who the sides are and what the situation is here so I can make informed decisions that will be the key to my survival on this world." he said simply.

Tyrande gave the matter a great deal of serious thought especially since she the value of what he was asking for. Then out of the corner of eye she saw that Fandral looked as though he was about to explode with protest.

She returned her gaze to the Chief.

"If it's not too inconvenient I would first like to convene with the others before I make my final decision. In the meantime, would like to take a tour of the city?" she asked.

The Chief was about to say that he would be fine waiting outside but Cortana spoke up.

"Hold on Chief, this might be a good opportunity to get a lay of the land. Plus I'm a bit curious."

He really wasn't all that thrilled about being in a public area but knew she was right.

"I accept."

The High Priestess smiled and nodded.

"Very well. Saelia, Naros, and Kiruna." she said calling out the night elves. "Would you provide escort for the Spartan and show him the city? We will send someone for you when we are finished."

All three night elves bowed.

"Of course my lady." replied Saelia. Saelia then waved for the Spartan to follow her which he did.

As soon as they left the High Priestess faced Fandral and knew it was going to be a tiring debate.

**==O==**

As soon as Cortana had finished cataloguing the information they had thus far, she spoke to the Spartan and told him that now that they were done, they might as well look at the city and see the sights before the sent for them. The Spartan naturally argued with her on that regard as they had a private conversation.

"Cortana, you know that I don't like being out in public."

"I know, but we can gather even more information from out there as well as the temple. This being the night elves' capital would mean that there's plenty of people who come here to trade, plus getting more information will be helpful. Besides, you can try to be more sociable with our hosts, after what they've seen, I think showing them that you're not a demon is a good idea."

John could tell that Cortana was dead serious about this and sighed once more as he spoke back to her.

"All right, but I'm only doing this because you asked for it. I might not like it at all, but if it'll make you happy then fine."

Cortana laughed gently at that.

"You can be a nice guy when you want to be."

"And you say that I don't get you anything." remarked John.

She laughed even more.

Saelia then began to guide the Spartan through the city of her people, showing him the various locations of the city and along with him were Kiruna and Naros. All the while, John had been studying the city itself and saw a good deal of things there in the city and began to record it in. He studied the exact layout of the city while listening to Saelia as she told him about the various sections of the city as they passed by what was called the Cenarion Enclave and made their way through an area called Craftsmen's Terrace. Naturally the residents were more than willing to point at the Spartan and talk in their native language, which by now the Spartan understood well enough. Some of the people were wondering what he was, where did he come from, all those sorts of things and some would even wonder if he was a demon. Some of that amused Cortana but he ignored it.

He also noticed the political disputes between Tyrande and Fandral. While they may not realize it their arguments were more than enough to tell the Spartan that there was a political power struggle going on between them.

They briefly stopped near the barracks at the Warrior's Terrace as the Spartan watched the warriors there spar, while Saelia sneaked a quick glance at him as she tried her best to picture him without his helmet. It was also hard to imagine that he was already in his forties when he looked to be a young man in the prime of life. The Night Elf Sentinel then turned her attention back to her duties as she then guided the Spartan through the Tradesmen's Terrace.

After an hour of touring the city, a female night elf in robes soon approached them.

"Sister Moonstrider? The High Priestess is waiting for you." she told Saelia.

Saelia nodded.

"Very well, inform Lady Tyrande that will be there shortly." she replied.

The priestess nodded heading back to the temple.

Saelia turned to the Chief. "It's time."

The Chief nodded and indicated for her to lead on.

**==O==**

Tyrande looked out the window to see the rest of the city of Darnassus and was deep in thought after all she had seen from the records of this Spartan. It was still hard for her to grasp it all but she could sense that all that she had seen was not some illusion, why she felt that was beyond her for now, but there was no doubt that this man before her was not of this world. And as such was a very powerful being in his own right and was to be treated with respect.

She also felt a moment of kinship with the man, he too was a warrior like her and had fought for his people just as she had for hers and gave everything to defend them just as she did. That was why in the end of the discussion between them, she believed that spoke truthfully when he said that he had no intention of fighting for anyone on this world until he found out more of this world and its people. He naturally would undoubtedly defend himself if attacked but she felt certain that he was not here to start a war with anyone and as such, he would more focused on securing his location and do what he could in order to be rescued if possible by those of the UNSC.

She wished that her beloved Malfurion was here with her to guide her and give her the stability and support she longed for as well as help her in keeping her people together. Not to mention for him to take back his rightful place as archdruid of their people, as Fandral's actions have troubled her long before the Spartan ever came to their world. Fandral was an excellent druid, of that there was no doubt, having been Malfurion's lieutenant for a long time.

However, his temperament was not one would expect from the right hand of Malfurion Stormrage, he was hot tempered, prone to rash decisions, and also very much a traditional night elf who dislikes the alliances with those he deems as inferior races. Fandral believed that their race were the only true druids in Azeroth as well as the superior race as they had defeated the Legion without any aid in the past and he believed that with time, they could do so again, despite the evidence on the contrary.

Added to that was his belief that the only way for the night elves to grow in strength and power was through expansionist actions as well as military force. That coupled with his aggressive stance made him clash with her in more than one instance. It still made her wonder why was it that Malfurion had such a person as his right hand as they also clashed on many matters in more than one moment in the time she had known the two.

Fandral of course had suffered the loss of his son Valstann in the War of the Shifting Sands many years before, so some of his anger towards other races was understandable. However, today his actions continued to grow more and more radical and Tyrande worried that sooner or later, there would a civil crisis among her people if this kept on occurring. Only those closest in both their respective orders knew how violent their clashing of words was getting and it was only a matter of time before things could radically change.

Speaking of which…

"Tyrande, you cannot be seriously considering in allowing the human access to the archives and granting him sanctuary within our lands?!" Fandral asked incredulously.

Tyrande turned and Fandral a piercing gaze.

"First Archdruid, you will remember that I am High Priestess and leader of the Kaldorei and you will address me as such. And secondly, I am more than entitled to consider the Master Chief's request whether you approve of it or not." she told him sternly.

Fandral's eyes narrowed but he said nothing as he gave a reluctant nod.

Satisfied despite Fandral's lack of sincerity Tyrande turned to the other night elves in the room save the two priestesses who she sent to resume their duties as their presence was no longer required.

"Shandris, what did you make of him?" she asked the general and practically adopted daughter.

Shandris pondered for a moment. "While much of what he told us seemed to be too incredible to believe, I don't think he was lying to us. He had the look of a warrior, carried himself with the bearing of one, and his voice was unwavering. He seemed sincere in his desire not to provoke conflict with ours or any other people. I believe we should grant his request and allow him the chance to prove his words with his actions unless he gives us a reason to do otherwise."

Tyrande smiled with pride at Shandris's measured reasoning.

Frandral snorted. "Preposterous is what I think you mean sister. A human warrior from the Great Dark Beyond! Utter nonsense!"

Ignoring the archdruid, Tyrande turned to the silent Watcher.

"Warden Cordana what is your thoughts on the Master Chief?"

Despite Tyrande's history with the Watchers, Cordana had never held any personal grudge or displayed any resentment against the High Priestess.

After a moment of silence, Cordana spoke for the first time during the whole affair.

"While I somewhat share the archdruid's skepticism, I am inclined to agree with General Shandris. The images that the Master Chief showed us are simply too powerful to ignore. Granting him his request will allow us to evaluate his character and motivations." Cordana said crisply with cold calculation.

Tyrande nodded.

"Then it is decided. When the Chief returns I will inform him that I will grant his request." Tyrande said with a note of finality.

It was then that a knock sounded at the door.

"Enter." said Tyrande.

The preistess that Tyrande had sent to inform the Chief entered the room with a bow.

"High Priestess, I have informed Sentinel Moonstrider of your summon and she the Chief will arrive shortly."

"My thanks Sister, you may go." Tyrande said thanking the younger night elf.

The priestess bowed once more before leaving the room.

Tyrande looked at the other three night elves.

"Shandris, Cordana you may go as well. I personally inform the Spartan of my decision. Archdruid you will remain." she directed and gave a look at the Fandral that brokered no argument.

The two female night elves nodded in understanding and left the room, leaving the High Priestess and the scowling archdruid alone to wait for the Spartan.

**==O==**

As John and the night elves accompanying him as they made their way to the room that held the meeting, he noticed General Shandris and Watcher Cordana leaving the room and coming toward him. As they passed him Shandris gave a small smile and nod while Cordana just gave him a curt nod and they left.

"I wonder what was about?" Cortana asked him privately.

"Don't know. Guess we'll find out soon enough." John replied.

When they entered the room he immediately saw the High Priestess and the glaring archdruid waiting for him.

"Master Chief. You will be pleased to know that I have decided to grant your request." she informed him with a smile.

"Thank you High Priestess." he said sincerely.

"However there is one condition I have before I allow you to view the archives."

"What's that High Priestess?"

"I would like you to be observed while you are reviewing the archives. The knowledge held within it is very precious to my people, I trust this will not be a problem?" she asked.

John shook his head.

"No."

"Very well then. Saelia and myself will show you the way." she informed him.

That was when Fandral spoke.

"The High Priestess may have granted your request human. But do not believe for a moment that I won't be watching you very closely." he warned.

The high priestess sharply turned head at the archdruid, narrowing her eyes as she did so.

"You will leave the Master Chief _alone_ unless I allow it. Do you understand me?"

Fandral silently nodded his compliance before briskly leaving the room.

The high priestess sighed and turned back to the Chief.

"Please follow me."

John nodded and followed her out of the room.

**==O==**

**Minutes later inside the archives of the Temple of the Moon…**

The archives hidden in the temple were very vast and there would undoubtedly be more than information as well that he would be able to get his hands on. Naturally the alphabet was unknown to the Spartan but he was able to get the chance to understand it later once he was done looking at them as this would allow Cortana to gather the information.

The Spartan poured over maps, pictures, scrolls and more while moving with relaxed patience and focus one each book and scroll that was located there in the library, he knew that there would be even more sources of information in the city that he would be able to look into at a much later date. Cortana was humming to herself while she took in all the information with a smile and filing it all away.

John was naturally not alone in the room as Saelia and Tyrande were also in the library, the two Night Elves were currently observing the Spartan from a balcony as he stood and poured through the books, maps, and scrolls looking for a few minutes to half an hour or so before moving to the next one.

Saelia then spoke to the high priestess.

"High Priestess, what do you think of him?"

Tyrande sighed a bit.

"The Chief, as he prefers to be recognized as, is a very interesting being. Despite coming from a society that has no knowledge about magic, but he is quite capable. Naros's description of his battle skills are proof of that, and what we have seen adds further weight to his story. As for him personally, I do not know, he certainly is a dangerous being, of that there is no doubt, but he seems to be sincere about his desire to be left alone." she replied.

Saelia nodded at that as the two of them watched as the Spartan continued to pour through the tomes and scrolls before him, they had no doubt that the glowing female being Cortana that was with him was helping the Spartan. The moment the being known as Cortana revealed herself to Tyrande and the others in the Temple with a smile was actually the most shocking part of the whole discussion as they had never seen anything like her before. As Fandral had said, she was like a wisp, yet she was not a dead being or a spirit, but in her own words a….program, a being made of information created by humans from this…UNSC that the Spartan was part of.

Tyrande recalled that and smiled a bit as she spoke.

"For a supposed demon, he seemed rather well mannered and pleasing to the eye, I can see that you also noticed Sentinel Moonstrider."

Saelia nodded, she had indeed noticed the unique appearance of the Spartan without the helmet to hide his features and she had found herself surprised and strangely...interested. Tyrande continued to smile to herself and then looked at the Spartan as he seemed focused on gathering the information that he came to get from their archives.

She then noticed that Saelia wore a troubled look on her face.

"Is there something wrong Sentinel Moonstrider?" Tyrande asked with concern.

"It is nothing my lady." she replied with a slight hesitation before giving the high priestess a weak smile.

Tyrande frowned. "Sentinel Moonstrider. If there is something that is troubling your thoughts you can speak of it to me."

Saelia paused for a moment before relenting, telling the High Priestess about the dream she had last night. When she was finished Tyrande held a thoughtful look as she pondered on the possible meaning of the dream.

"Was that night the only time you had this dream?" Tyrande asked.

Saelia nodded.

"Yes my lady, I have never had this dream before nor have I ever seen anything like those….images in all my life." Saelia replied still disturbed by what she had seen. "What does it mean my lady?"

"I do not know sister. I too have never seen or heard of anything like what you described from your dreams." said Tyrande with a shake of head. "Though Elune does grant visions to those who are meant to see them, their meanings are not always clear. I will pray to Elune for guidance and perhaps she will grant me the wisdom necessary to unravel the meaning to your dreams.

Saelia nodded in gratitude. "Thank you my lady."

"You are welcome Sister. In the meantime go about your duties as you would normally and inform me if you have these dreams again." Tyrande advised.

"Yes my lady." Saelia acknowledged with a slight bow.

Tyrande turned to continue observing the Spartan as he perused the archives when a sudden idea occurred to her.

**==O==**

**An hour later, near the entrance to the Temple of the Moon…**

"Before you return to your ship Spartan, I believe that it would best if you have a guide or guides to help you to be further accustomed to the lands of my people. This way you will know where you are as well as know what and where the other denizens are here in Kalimdor, whether benevolent or not. Since you are familiar with Sentinel Saelia Moonstrider and Druid Naros Shadecrest, I wish to ask if you would consider them to be by your guides to help you while you are here in our lands?" asked Tyrande.

The Spartan looked at the two night elves and weighed the options. Both had exceptional knowledge of the land, had useful skills, and they were more familiar to him than anyone else for that matter. It was better to work with people who know of already so you can watch them carefully as well as gain information from at the same time.

"I don't mind High Priestess, but I have to point out that I will be traveling this land to learn more once I have secured my base of operations. If that happens, I want to know if they are all right with traveling with me to areas beyond Kalimdor. I also might have to travel to the lands of the Horde and meet their races as well as other races on this world so I need to be sure that they are all right with that? Or will they decide to stay here when I leave and return to their duties until I return?" asked John.

Tyrande looked at both night elves and the silence was there, this was something that had to be carefully considered. To her knowledge Saelia and Naros had never left Kalimdor's shores before and this was not uncommon. Many night elves preferred to stay in the lands that they knew as home and while many have gone beyond the shores, Saelia was a Sentinel and Naros was a Druid of the Cenaruian Circle and they were both duty bound to stay and defend Kalimdor in one capacity or another.

"I would be willing to go if that is your wish High Priestess. Though I know little of the lands beyond Kalimdor, I am willing to go to those lands and the Master Chief with your approval." Naros said with a bow.

Tyrande smiled, nodding in agreement and the druid returned her smile. Truthfully, hearing about the lands beyond Kalimdor in the past had stirred curiosity in the young druid and he was eager to see these lands. After all, he had heard rumors that both Malfurion and Tyrande had gone to those distant shores and he wished to see what they had seen as well.

Tyrande then turned to Saelia.

"And what of you Sentinel Moonstrider?"

"I…I am unsure my lady. I have never considered traveling beyond Kalimdor before." Saelia replied with slight apprehension in her voice.

"High Priestess, if I may speak?" Kiruna suddenly asked.

Tyrande nodded.

"I have greatly traveled beyond the lands of Kalimdor and I have been to the lands inhabited by the humans and those of the other members of the Alliance. And the lands of those who are not part of the Horde and even the lands inhabited by the members of the Horde. If you will allow me, I will accompany the Chief alongside Saelia and Naros. Since I know many of the lands beyond Kalimdor quite well I will be able to help them to adjust living outside of our homeland."

Tyrande thought it over and knew that Kiruna spoke the truth. She also knew that Saelia and Kiruna were close friends and comrades when they were both in the Sentinels. It would be better if both Saelia and Naros had one of their kindred who had already traveled beyond their lands with them to aid them in both adjusting to other lands and to guide them if the Spartan left their lands.

"I agree with Huntress Kiruna's idea, what of you Saelia?"

The night elf Sentinel pondered on it for a moment and decided that perhaps she could do this duty. It would be a first to her, but if her closest friend could do it then there was nothing stopping her from doing the same. Besides she still was honor bound to keep watch on the Spartan, and if doing so meant traveling with him beyond Kalimdor and possibly Horde territory, then so be it.

Though she wondered why she felt that there was more to her decision than that.

"I will do as you ask my lady. If it will help our people then I will travel with the Spartan wherever he may wish to go." she said with resolve.

Tyrande smiled at that.

Once everything had been settled, the Spartan recovered his weapons with her approval and left to return to the village of Rut'theran to leave in his Pelican. When he and the others arrived at the Pelican, the three had to ask a number of curious night elf children and teens to leave the Pelican alone and allow the Spartan to activate the code to have the Pelican remove the lockdown that it was in effect.

As soon that was done, the Chief powered up the Pelican's systems and lifted it off as the Spartan was now focused on the task of getting back to the Dawn and add all the necessary defenses to insure that the ship would properly defended. It would take a lot of work that but it will be worth it as it will insure the security of his ship during his stay on this world. He also had enough supplies as well as the support of the Robotic Rovers, and he could use the materials that were available to him, though he needed to double check the Dawn's inventory and see if the supplies he had were enough. And he would need to retrieve the two drop pods he arrived with first thing in the morning.

**==O==**

**Hours later in late afternoon, nearing the Dawn…**

As the Pelican came closer to the Dawn's location Kiruna was engaged in a discussion with Naros and Saelia to learn just what they knew of the Spartan and getting a feel for the Pelican. She noted that compared to the goblin zeppelins, Hippogryphs, and the Gryphons she had ridden before, the Pelican didn't allow for the feel of the wind but it seemed to have some sort of device that kept the air cool and comfortable. Not to mention the flight seemed very fast compared to the zeppelins.

"We're here." John informed his passengers.

Kiruna then moved up to the cockpit and what she saw out of the window caused her eyes to widen and made her speechless. She saw the severed half of the Dawn laid out across the area and stared at it in wonder.

She then turned to look at Saelia with an unspoken question.

Saelia smiled.

"Trust me Sister, you have not seen anything yet."

**==O==**

As John stepped off the Pelican's ramp and into the Dawn's hanger deck and he briefly looked around and saw that everything was in order.

"This place is amazing!"

The Chief turned and saw that it was his newest guest Kiruna who had spoken as she looked around her in awe.

"Saelia." John called.

Saelia looked at the Chief with a questioning look.

"Show Huntress Kiruna to where to sleep and get some rest. I have some things that I need to take care of tomorrow." John said.

Saelia nodded then guided Kiruna to the crew quarters with Naros behind them leaving the Spartan alone.

As night arrived, the Master Chief decided to take some time in keeping an eye on the ship before getting some rest. Later, he would ask if Saelia and her friend would be able to fill in and help Cortana watch the ship by patrolling around the area of the Dawn when he needed some sleep. He might be a Spartan, but even he needed sleep just like any human.

**==O==**

**Author's Notes: And done! I realize that the Master Chief didn't really do much in this chapter but I promise you all that you'll see the Chief doing a lot more fighting in later chapters. But at least the Chief got to visit the Night Elves home and made a good impression, possible gaining some allies while Cortana totally owned Frandral so all in all it was time well spent. And if your interest in reading my other story that I've published while updating this one please feel free to do so. Also I should be updating more chapters for this one later. So until next time see ya later!**


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